Eric and Elizabeth the Gardevoir
by DavidToons
Summary: Follow the story of Eric and his Pokemon Elizabeth on their journey through Hoenn! Immerse yourself in a slice of life story where not only does Elizabeth evolve from Ralts to Gardevoir, but where friendship evolves into true love! Fall in love with a world built with elements of the games and the anime with a touch of pizzazz! See official art here: @davidt00ns (instagram)
1. Into the woods

**I do not own Pokemon, and probably never will, because I'm broke. This is a fanfiction, and nothing more, so please don't sue me.**

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It's been roughly one week since I moved to Littleroot town with my parents. For the past 16 years, we lived in the city. There weren't many pokemon where I lived, except for Taillow and the occasional Wingull. Growing up in the concrete jungle made me crave the outdoors more than anything. Sadly I'd rarely get the chance to experience it since the closest thing to the wilderness was the small park in the city center. One day my father got a job opportunity as an assistant researcher at Professor Birch's laboratory, which meant we would have to move from the city to the countryside. It was a dream come true. It's a quiet little town, full of greenery and life. A drastic change, compared to the city. I made friends with our neighbors, Brendan and May. They shared a dream of becoming great pokemon masters. Their infatuation became my own shortly after we met. May introduced me to his father Professor Birch, who gave the starter pokemon to Hoenn's young trainers. The three of us had the opportunity to be those young trainers starting tomorrow.

"Hey! Wake up, Eric!" Brendan shouted, throwing pebbles at my window. I sluggishly crawled out of my bed and opened the window. May and Brendan were outside waving at me.

"When you guys said we should meet in the morning, I didn't expect it would be at the crack of dawn." I groaned.

"Why don't you guys come in while I get ready?" I asked with a tired voice. They nodded and walked towards the front of my house. I shut the window and grabbed some clothes that I left out yesterday. I prepared my travel gear the night before, so I wouldn't have to waste time in the morning and stall those two. Not like it mattered, Brendan and May were probably waiting for me for a bit and that's why they pelted my window with pebbles. I made my way downstairs after gearing up and double-checking my pack. Compact tent, sleeping bag, first aid kit and some food to name a few. Brendan and May were at the table chatting with my mom when I finally got downstairs.

"There you are, Eric!" Brendan chuckled. I felt a little embarrassed about making them wait for me. "You ready?" He asked with a smirk.

"You bet your ass I am!" I flashed him a confident smile. I said goodbye to mom and we headed out the door. On our way to Professor Birch's laboratory, we kept wondering about what kind of pokemon we may get as our starter.

"I bet it's going to be something awesome, like a Bagon or a Vigoroth!" Brendan kept hyping.

"I hope it's something cute! Maybe a Marill or Beautifly! May chimed in. We finally got to Birch's lab. He was already waiting for us outside.

"Hey, daddy!" May cheerfully greeted the professor. Brendan and I looked at each other and chuckled. She ignored us and went up to her dad to give him a hug.

"Hey, there pumpkin!" Birch embraced May with a smile.

"Oh, hey you two!" He said, turning to us with May still clinging off him.

"Good morning, Professor!" I greeted him. May finally let go of his dad and the three of us entered his laboratory. It was full of machines and there were a lot of people in lab coats working on them. I saw my dad at the far end of the room and waved at him. He saw me and waved back before returning to his duties. Professor Birch led us to a desk with three Pokeballs on it.

"Today you three will become official pokemon trainers!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You will each choose from these three Pokemon." He continued. Birch proceeded to open all of them in succession. Three small pokemon busted out of the ball, looking very excited.

"They are Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic." He explained. We stood there in awe before May quickly ran up to the desk and grabbed Torchic.

"You're so adorable! I choose you, Torchic!" May held up the tiny bird pokemon as she kept praising it. Brandon and I walked up to the desk to get a better look at the other two pokemon. Brandon's gaze focused on Treecko. It had its arms crossed with a cocky smirk on its face.

"You're a pretty cool pokemon, aren't you?" Brendan smirked, picking up the little lizard.

"I guess I choose you little….guy?" I picked up Mudkip examining it. "Yupp, little guy!" I stated, much to the other's amusement.

"You three are officially pokemon trainers!" Birch looked at as with pride. He handed us each a Pokedex and a few Pokeballs before he walked us to the edge of town. We decided to go to Odale town together, but after that, we would each go our separate ways. May and Brendan were great friends, but they were really competitive. They each wanted to be the very best. May went north towards route 103 while Brendan went west of Odale town, towards route 102. I think he wanted to pay his dad a visit, who spent most of his time in Petalburg since he was the gym leader there. We said our goodbyes and I watched them walk out of sight. I stayed in Odale town for a bit. I decided to go into the general store and stock up on necessities, like potions, Pokefood and Pokeballs before heading off. Instead of taking the routes, I decided to head into the woods. I thought that the Pokemon would avoid the routes since people frequently walk it. After about an hour of aimless walking, I sat down to take a break and get some lunch. I let out my Mudkip, so he could also fill his belly.

"Come on out little guy!" I tossed his ball in front of me. He looked around confused, then looked at me questioningly. "I thought we could grab a bite to eat." I smiled, shaking a bag of Pokefood. His face lit up and he hopped around excitedly.

"Mud! Mud!" He kept yelping. I chuckled, then put down a bowl for him. He happily chowed down on the food. I sat down and enjoyed a sandwich that I bought from the store.

"I should give you a name." I blurted out. Mudkip looked at me with his mouth full and a curious expression. "I can't just call you Mudkip, that's like calling me, Human." I continued. "You're a water Pokemon, so I should give you a name that fits" I pondered. "How about Tide?" I asked him excitedly.

"Mwud-Kirp!" He agreed with his mouth full. Tide and I decided to relax for a while after our meal. The sounds of the forest put our minds at ease. The soft humming of nearby Nincada, the chirping of Taillow in the treetops and the distant barks of Poochyena. Tide would sometimes perk up and look around after hearing these barks. It must've sounded too close for comfort for him. I decided to pack up and get going after about half an hour. I withdrew Tide back into his ball and began walking deeper into the woods. I came to a small clearing shortly after, where I was suddenly stopped in my tracks by an unfamiliar sound. It sounded like tiny bells softly jingling across the forest floor. I tensed up and listened carefully. The soft jingle became louder and harsh as whatever was making it drew closer. I heard the shrubbery being pushed aside desperately as the source of the noise rapidly closed in on me. Out of the bushes, a small pale pokemon jumped out, it was the origin of the bell sounds. It looked terrified of something and it seemed to have been in a fight. It was covered in dirt and scratches. When it saw me it froze then started to tremble.

"Hey, the-" I was caught off by a loud yelp. It came from behind the bush the small pokemon came from. The pale pokemon ran towards me frantically waving its tiny arms. Out of the bush, a Zigzagoon jumped out, then a second and a third! They charged towards the little one with hunger in their eyes. I quickly grabbed hold of the tiny pokemon, but not before one of the Zigzagoon was able to bite down on my arm. I felt its teeth scraping my bones as I desperately tried to shake it off. I slammed it into a nearby tree to get it off. It finally let go, leaving me with a nasty wound. The pain was overshadowed by the adrenalin pumping through my veins. The little bastard got up and started growling at me while its buddies crept closer to me. A million thoughts shot through my mind all at once as my fight or flight instinct kicked it. I turned heel and began sprinting deeper into the woods. I heard the running after me yelping and barking. I was able to put some distance between us before I noticed that I was leaving a trail of blood. The wound on my right arm was profusely bleeding. I felt it growing numb as I had lost quite a bit of blood. The tiny pale pokemon was clutching onto my shirt. I held him with my left hand so I could shake my right arm into a nearby bush. Blood flew into it, covering it with my smell. I quickly pushed my right arm into my shirt so it would soak up blood instead of letting it drip on the floor before I started running again. I slowed down into a walking pace not long after. I lost too much stamina to keep running, not to mention blood. After stumbling around for a while I reached a large clearing with a lake at its center. I was out of breath and exhausted so I decided to stop here to rest.

"Oh boy, this will leave a mark." I chuckled to myself, looking at the wound on my arm. The tiny pokemon was still clutching my shirt. It was terrified and most likely in shock. I tried to gently pry it off of me. It took a few tries, but it eventually let go and I set it down next to me. I took off my backpack and pulled out the first aid kit. I did my best to clean the wound with a disinfectant before I began to try and stitch the gaping bite marks on my arm. It wasn't pretty, but at least the bleeding stopped. I wrapped it in a bandage and swallowed a painkiller before turning to the tiny pokemon standing next to me.

"Let's get you patched up, okay little guy?" I said with a reassuring smile. I reached for it, but it flinched and took a step backward. It was still scared and it didn't trust me.

"Don't be scared, I won't hurt you. I want to help you!" I held out my finger instead of reaching for the tiny pokemon with my entire hand. It looked at my finger with a mixture of fear and confusion. It reached out its tiny arm and grabbed my finger. It let me pick it up after realizing I wanted to help it. I dug out one of the potions I bought and sprayed it on the pale pokemon. Some of it must've gotten into its mouth because it started coughing.

"Rah! Rah!" Coughed the tiny pokemon.

"Sorry little guy!" I frantically apologized. The scratches on its body began to heal rapidly.

"Ralts…" It said softly, looking up at me. I smiled then gently placed it next to me. I put away the first aid kit and dug out my Pokedex.

"Now that your wounds are healed, let's see what kind of pokemon you are." I opened my Pokedex and pointed it at the little pokemon.

"Ralts! The feeling pokemon! Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horn on its head." Stated the Pokedex. It began analyzing Ralts and more information popped up on the screen. Turns out this little guy was, in fact, a little gal.

"Oh! You're a girl! Sorry for calling you a little guy earlier." I chuckled.

"You're still covered in dirt, let's clean you up in the lake!" I suggested, pointing at the lake. I carried her to the shore and got the dirt off of her horn, hair and what I assume was her dress. She seemed to have accepted me. She no longer trembled when I picked her up. I sat back down on the shore with her next to me.

"Now that you're patched up and clean, how about you join me on my journey?" I turned to her with a smile. "I'm an official pokemon trainer, you know!" I boasted.

"Ralts!" She said with a soft smile.

"Well, if you're going to be my partner, then I should give you a name!" I stated, scratching my chin.

"How about Elizabeth?"

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**Author's note: This chapter is actually a remake, as the first two chapters were quite bad, so I rewrote them and merged the two into one. I'll keep updating the chapters because it was pointed out that they are full of typos. This is my first ever fanfiction, so I can't promise it will be that good, but I promise to try and improve as much as possible.**


	2. Campfire story

**I don't own pokemon! Don't sue me!**

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„Elizabeth…I think it's a nice name!" I said to her with a smile.

"Ralts!" She eagerly replied. I pet her on the head then grabbed Tide's Pokeball so he could meet the newest member of the team.

"Come on out Tide and meet your new buddy Elizabeth" I tossed Tide's Pokeball in front of us and he popped out looking pretty excited. Tide took a few steps towards Elizabeth, she clung onto me as soon as he did. She must've still been a little shaken up after the fiasco earlier. Tide noticed this and stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to the side questioningly.

"Kip Mudkip?" He said to Elizabeth who was still clinging to my arm with both her tiny arms. She loosened her grip and looked at me then Tide.

"It's alright, he won't hurt you. He's my friend Tide!" I calmly said to her with a reassuring gaze. She let my arm go and took a step forward towards Tide. She held out her arm, imitating me when I introduced myself to her. Tide seemed a little confused at first, but a couple of seconds after he put his head to her hand to reciprocate the greeting.

"Mudkip!" Tide jumped around looking pretty ecstatic. He must've been happy to make a new friend. Elizabeth still looked a little tense, but I could tell she no longer saw Tide as a threat. I laughed at the spectacle, it was quite adorable. Elizabeth noticed and gave me a small smile, which made me happier than I thought it would. It felt like it wasn't only my happiness coursing through me.

"Is that you Elizabeth?" She looked confused by my question.

"You can sense other people's emotions, can you also project yours onto others?" I asked her excitedly. She happily nodded her head, she looked like an adorable little bobblehead. Since most of my stuff was already packed out I thought it would be smart to make camp here for the day. It was a little early, but I felt exhausted and my arm still hurt despite the painkiller's best efforts. I let Tide play in the water while I began to set up the tent. Elizabeth stood close by and watched me struggle to get the tent standing upright. She looked like she had something on her mind.

"What's wrong Elizabeth? You look a little worried. If it's about those Zigzagoons don't worry Tide and I are right here! I still got one good arm." I chuckled a little, but this didn't seem to put her at ease. She shook her head and pointed at my arm and then the tent. I was a little confused, I didn't know what she meant by that.

"Ralts ra!" She said while walking closer and attempting to hold down the tent as I was figuring out how to make it not collapse.

"Oooh, you wanted to help because my arm is injured! That's really sweet of you, but don't worry I can do it no problem!" I did my best to give her a confident smile. She puffed up her cheeks, she must've been grumpy that I didn't let her help. She put both her hand on her horn and looked at me intensely. She held her breath and looked like she was going to pop a blood vessel! After a few seconds, she quickly exhaled and dropped her hands to her knees panting.

"You alright Elizabeth? You looked like you squished your horn with that intense look." I said to her jokingly, she still looked a little grumpy but she was exhausted so she just sat down and watched me set up the tent. I kept thinking about what just happened during my struggle and after 10 minutes of awkward folding and setting the tent finally stood straight.

"That took longer than I thought it would," I said swallowing my pride.

"But a tent is a tent" I gave Elizabeth a defeated smile which made her giggle a little. It was cute. I tossed in my bag and went after it to lay out my sleeping bag and some necessities I may need. It wasn't a huge tent by all means, but it was comfortable I had enough space for my bag and my sleeping bag if I put it to the side. As I was laying out my sleeping bag I heard the tent flap which covered the entrance rustle. I looked to see what it was. It was Elizabeth. Once again she came to my rescue. She looked pretty determined so I allowed her to help. I let her roll out the remaining half of my sleeping bag while I put back the first aid kit and some stuff that was out of my bag. I made sure to keep the water bottle out in case I get thirsty. It turns out Elizabeth had some difficulty rolling out my sleeping bag because when I looked back she was only halfway done. I giggled a little to which she responded by puffing up her cheeks and pushing the sleeping bag with all her strength. It finally gave way and the bag laid out defeated.

"You've got a lot of spirit for someone so small" I chuckled and poked her in the stomach. She lifted her arms to her horn once again and looked intensely at me. I thought I offended her and was about to apologize when I felt the strangest sensation ever. I felt a tickle at the back of my head, no rather at the back of my mind. But as soon as I felt it, it was gone and once again Elizabeth was panting and out of breath.

"Wait a second, did you just try to use telepathy to talk to me?" My eyes were wide as Wailmers as I asked her.

"Ra-Ralts" She said panting. She fell back on her butt exhausted. I was completely flabbergasted! A pokemon was trying to talk to me with her mind! My mind was blown.

"That's so awesome! Elizabeth you're so cool!" I scooped her up to congratulate her. She looked a little embarrassed by my praise.

"It looks like you can't yet use telepathy, but with some training and leveling up you may be able to! It's going to be amazing!" She was still exhausted but she also seemed a little excited. I put her down on the sleeping bag and looked outside. Tide was splashing around in the water like it was the best thing since Master balls.

"Well the tent is all set up, I should probably get some firewood." I pondered out loud. I heard Elizabeth stand up. She must've wanted to help me with that too.

"Oh no, you don't missy! You're exhausted so you stay right there and regain some energy" I told her gently but firmly. She seemed a little upset by my words. It felt bad just to leave her there. She looked so small and alone it made me feel so concerned.

"Ugh fine, you can come with me, but you still have to rest, so get on my shoulder and I can carry you" She immediately perked up and quickly walked towards me.

"Hey! Did you project your emotions onto me so I would take pity on you and take you with me?" I exclaimed while pointing my finger at her. She looked took a step back and stared at the ground.

"Well, it worked so hop on!" I said to her as I patted my shoulder. She made a high note bell sound and crawled up my arm onto my shoulder. I crouch walked out of the tent and slowly stood up to make sure Elizabeth wouldn't fall off. This was probably the highest she's ever been to.

"Raaaaaalts!" She said amazed as she looked around from her newly found height. She was adorable, like a kid who just saw a pokemon in person for the first time.

"Tide! Want to help us get firewood?" I shouted towards Tide who was still blissfully enjoying the water. When he heard my voice he perked up and ran towards us as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

"Kip!" He happily stated when he reached us. We headed back towards the woods to get some sticks and branches that seemed dry. Tide was not used to such terrain so he fell head first a few times, much to Elizabeth's amusement. It didn't bother him at all as he kept walking confidently next to me. After a while, each of us had our hands or in Tide's case our mouth full of sticks. I could only carry one handful of sticks since my right arm was still hurting and I couldn't grab things with enough force to hold them. Elizabeth was proudly carrying a stick almost as big as her so she had to hold it with both hands and Tide's mouth held around 6 sticks. We made our way back to the tent and I began to prepare a campfire. I ushered Tide and Elizabeth inside while I made the fire since it was getting late and I felt even more exhausted than before. I prepared some dinner for my pokemon and myself and ate it in the cozy tent. Full and exhausted I was ready to curl up in my sleeping bag.

"Alright Tide, time for bed," I said mid-yawn as I picked up his Pokeball. He made a sleepy sound and nodded at Elizabeth before returning to his Pokeball. Elizabeth seemed surprised, he looked at Tide's Pokeball as I put it down next to the sleeping bag.

"Ralts?" She said with curiosity as she poked the ball. She then looked at me with the same curious expression.

"Oh right, I haven't caught you yet." I said to her sleepily as I picked up one of the free Pokeballs I had in my bag. She looked confused and a little scared by this, so I put the Pokeball in front of her so she could examine it.

"This is a Pokeball. When we trainers catch pokemon they go in here so we can take them with us on our adventures. Professor Birch said it's like a mini oasis in there. It analyses the pokemon and then sets up an ideal environment or something along those lines." I said while scratching the back of my head. She looked calmer but still seemed a little bit nervous.

"I want to make you mine" She went completely red as I said it. After my brain processed what I just said I also began to blush and tried to explain myself.

"W-what I mean is when you are caught you get registered into the trainer's Pokedex and other trainers can't catch you…" Elizabeth stopped blushing and rolled the Pokeball to me. She gave me a reassuring smile and I picked up the Pokeball. I put it to her head and the ball opened and she was caught. I set the ball down but it began to shake. It shook violently and Elizabeth popped out panting.

"Elizabeth, what's wrong? Is it scary in there?" She slowly walked to me and clung onto my arm. She must've not wanted to be alone after what happened today. I pet her on the head and made some space for her under my sleeping bag. She curled up next to me as I laid down.

"Good night Elizabeth! Don't worry, I'll make sure those Zigzagoons won't get you." I felt a wave of comfort and joy wash over me. When I looked towards her, she had her hand on her horn. This was her way of thanking me.

"Raltsss~." She said with a tired voice. My body gave in to the exhaustion and I fell asleep with my new buddy next to me.


	3. Dawn

**I don't own Pokemon, but I do own a copy of Pokemon Omega Ruby. This is just a fanfiction, so you can' sue me.**

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I woke up in a cold sweat. My right arm felt even number than yesterday and it even hurt just to move my fingers. I felt a little hazy and my mouth was completely dry, so I reached for my water bottle, which I cleverly left out the previous day. My hand brushed against something soft as was reaching, which made me stop and lift up my arm higher so I could see what I brushed my arm against. I had completely forgotten that Elizabeth was sleeping next to me. She made a soft and sleepy bell sound. I must've woken her up when my arm brushed against her.

"Sorry Elizabeth, I forgot you were next to me." I said with a raspy voice. She didn't respond, she just turned towards me then moved closer so she could warm up. I gently pet her head then grabbed my bottle and drank at least half of it with a couple of gulps. My throat was no longer parched and I felt less hazy soon after, but my arm was still not improving.

"I should go back to Odale town and get Nurse Joy to look at it." I thought to myself as I looked at my arm. I faced towards the tent's entrance. I could tell the sun was beginning to rise as a mellow orange color had enveloped the tent. My gaze trailed off towards the little pokemon curled up to my chest. I poked her gently a couple of times to get her to wake up, but she swatted my finger away with her tiny arms.

"Oh come on Elizabeth, it's already morning! Time to wake up~" I said teasingly. After a bit more persuading and poking her, she finally rolled over and sat up.

"Ra~alts." She said mid-yawn. I took it as a 'good morning' and gave her a smile. She rubbed her eyes then looked around. She looked at my bandaged arm then back to me.

"Ralts?" She asked while pointing at my arm. I think she was concerned about my arm and wanted to know if it's any better. Her concern was not unfounded, my arm had only got worse since I attempted to patch it up. At least it was no longer bleeding, but I had to get it checked out by a professional as soon as possible.

"It's in bad shape, I don't think it'll get better by itself." I said in a dull tone. She looked scared by my answer and began frantically looking around. She hurried to my backpack and looked inside. She almost fell in trying to reach for something. She pulled out a potion, the same type as the one I used on her yesterday.

"Ralts!" She said panting. I could feel an intense wave of concern wash over my body. Her emotions were being projected onto me. She was really concerned about me, I couldn't help but smile. She just met me yesterday, yet she is so concerned about me and wants to help heal my arm.

"That sadly does not work on humans. It's only for pokemon." I sighed.

"I wish it was that easy, but for my arm to get better we have to go to the nearest Pokemon center, which is in Odale town." I explained. She looked defeated and let the potion go. She must've been upset about not being able to help me.

"Don't worry Elizabeth, just seeing you trying to help already made me feel a lot better!" I reassured her. She looked less upset and slowly walked towards my right arm. She gently caressed my hand with her tiny arms before nuzzling her head into it. I flinched a little which made her jump back and look at me concerned.

"It's alright, it didn't hurt that much." I tried sooth her as I cracked half a smile. I tried to invoke feelings of comfort and happiness in my mind since she could sense my emotions. I took her a second to understand what I was trying to tell her. She smiled softly before she turned around to pick up the potion on the ground. I watched her attempting to put it back before she gave up out of exhaustion. I picked up the potion and put it back in my bag before flashing Elizabeth a cocky smile. She puffed up her cheeks and looked away.

"You're adorable!" I chuckled to which she responded by turning toward me and sticking out her tongue. I laughed and pet her on her head.

"I think we should get some breakfast, pack up and then get my arm checked out at the Pokemon center." I suggested. Elizabeth happily agreed. I sat up and stretched my arms while letting loose a mighty yawn. I picked up my jacket from the floor and put it on before picking out some food for breakfast. I set down 2 bowls and put some Pokemon food in it. It wasn't fancy or home-made, it was to store brand kind. I also took out a sandwich that I made yesterday before letting out Tide so he could get some breakfast as well.

"Mwuuuuud~" He yawned, expressing his tiredness.

"Well good morning to you too little buddy!" I said smiling as I pet his head. We began eating our breakfast. I tried to figure out how long it would take to get back to Odale town as we sat there chowing down. I felt a tug at my jacket which made me pause my train of thought. It was Elizabeth. She was looking at my sandwich with insatiable curiosity.

"Ohw, Iwt's A Swandwiwch." I said with my mouth full. She looked even more curious now.

"Here, have a bite!" I said after swallowing finally. I lowered it to her mouth. She sniffed it then took a small bite. She seemed to like it, she took another bite before I pulled back my sandwich. She went back to her bowl and picked up a piece of the Pokemon food and held it up towards me. Since I shared my food with her, she wanted to share her food with me.

"Oh, thank you!" I said smiling. I was surprised, I knew she was sweet but this was just too pure. I popped the piece into my mouth. It had an odd flavor, not bad or anything just odd. I swallowed and thanked her by petting her on the head. We finished our food shortly after. I unzipped my tent and let my little buddies stretch their legs as I began to pack up the tent and the rest of my stuff. It was a lot easier to pack up the tent than setting it up. This time it only took me seven minutes. I watched Tide and Elizabeth play for a little before I called them back so we could head to Odale town. I withdrew Tide back to his ball before turning towards Elizabeth.

"Would you like to travel in the Pokeball or on my shoulder like yesterday?" I asked her smiling.

"Ralts!" She said while pointing at me. I think she wanted to keep an eye on me so I wouldn't injure my arm any further.

"All aboard the Eric express! Toot toot!" I said jokingly as I picked her up and set her down on my shoulder. She leaned into my face and let out a little bell sound similar to a purr. I pulled out my Pokenav to see where we were so I could head towards Odale town finally. We were only roughly thirty minutes of walking from it luckily.

"Ralts! Ralts!" Elizabeth happily exclaimed. She must've felt my relief and knew I would get better soon.

"Let's get going, shall we?" I said with a smile as I began to walk towards the edge of the woods and towards Odale town.


	4. All pathced up

I still don't own Pokemon, but thanks for asking.

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When we entered the forest Elizabeth's cheerful attitude slowly began to fade. She became wary of our surroundings. I don't blame her, it's been only a day since the attack, which I was reminded every time I looked at my arm. The numbness I felt previously grew into a dull, yet constant pain. I tried distracting myself by listening to the sounds of the forest. I could still hear the Marill playing around the lakeshore behind us. The monotone buzzing of nearby Nincada and the ever so often chirp of a Taillow far up in the treetops would have kept calm and relaxed, if not for the distant yelps and barks of Zigzagoons and Poochyenas, which made me feel uneasy. Lucky for us they never drew closer and seemed to get further and further away as we walked. Elizabeth seemed a little tense. She would grab onto my face upon hearing the distant yelps.

"It's alright little buddy." I whispered in a gentle tone, in an attempt to put her mind at ease.

"They won't get you ever again, I promise!" I pet her face with my finger as I tried to soothe her. She loosened her grip and let go of my cheek after we got further away from those unnerving sounds. Our trip was mostly uneventful despite the near-constant unease, except for the occasional Wrumple crawling past us and giving us a mean look. After about half an hour of walking through the forest, we finally made it to Odale town. At this point, the pain in my arm began to radiate and seemed to be crawling up towards my shoulder, on which Elizabeth was comfortably sitting on. I wasted no time heading towards the Pokemon center. I figured this must've been Elizabeth's first time seeing a town because she kept sharing her concern with me using her ability and frequently looking at the people walking by.

"It will be alright, they're going to help me. They can fix my arm." I explained with a reassuring smile. I entered the center and walked to the front desk.

"Welcome to the Pokemon center! How may I help you?" Asked Nurse Joy in a welcoming tone.

"I was bitten by a Zigzagoon yesterday. I did my best to patch up the wound, but it seems to be getting worse" I explained, showing her my bandaged arm.

"Oh, dear! I'll take a look at it right away!" She said looking concerned. She waved towards the nearby Chansey for assistance, then led me to an available room before quickly ushering me to sit down on the bed before she went to grab some supplies. Elizabeth kept sending me waves of concern. She must've picked up on Nurse Joy's concern about the state of my arm which must've frightened her. I put her down next to me on the bed and took off my backpack.

"It'll be alright, I promise!" I said, trying my best to calm her down. She didn't seem to get any less scared. At this point, I was a little worried as well, but I didn't want her to know so I did my best to seem relaxed.

"Ralts! Ralts!" She said with worry in her voice as she pointed towards the door.

"Nurse Joy will be back she just went to get some things to fix my arm." I reassured her. A minute or so later Nurse Joy came in with a medical kit in her arm and a Chansey following close behind. She had a surgical mask on and she looked pretty serious. It made me feel uneasy.

"Why isn't your Pokemon in its ball? It's not sanitary to have it here while I examine your arm. You should put it back in its ball." She ushered me as she was opening her kit. I went to reach for her ball, but Elizabeth stopped me and clung onto my hand.

"Ralts! Ra-Ralts!" She cried out shaking her head. I could see tiny trails of tears streaming down her small pale face. She didn't want to leave me alone, she was really worried about me. A tear ran down the side of my face. She didn't project her emotions onto me, she didn't need to. I felt her emotions without any psychic pink horns. Nurse Joy's expression softened a bit at the sight.

"She should still get off the bed at least. I'll put her on the table so she can still be here with you." She stated, picking her up then walking to a nearby table then plopping her down on it.

"Ralts…" Elizabeth quietly said. I turned to look at her and gave her the most confident smile I could muster before turning back to look at nurse joy. She sat down and began to undo my bandages. My arm looked horrible. As soon as I saw a wave of cold washed over me. The whole arm up to my elbow was red and my crudely stitched up bite marks were covered in pus. Nurse Joy's mask hid her concerned look, but I could tell she knew it was pretty bad.

"Oh dear, this is not good at all" She whispered under her breath.

"I'll have to remove your stitches and clean the wound thoroughly. I'm not going to lie, it will hurt" She told me with a serious look on her face. She went back to her kit then grabbed a syringe. She filled it with a numbing agent to make the procedure as 'painless' as possible. Even just the syringe felt like a salted dagger tearing into my arm as it went in. Luckily she held my arm firmly, so I couldn't yank it away. She let the numbing agent take its course for a couple of seconds before grabbing a pair of medical scissors. I prepared myself for what was going to happen next. She cut the stitches and began to get the pus out from the wounds. I couldn't help but scream in pain which made Elizabeth almost jump off the table.

"Ralts!" She cried, hurrying towards the edge of the table.

"It'ssss okay!" I pushed the words through my teeth.

"This is part of the healing. I said in a tone as close to calm as I could muster. She at least stopped trying to get off the table, but I felt every ounce of fear in her tiny body being pushed onto me. After ten excruciating minutes, my wounds were cleared and re-stitched properly.

"I did my best to fix your injury, but your wound was pretty infected." She told me in a stern voice.

"You'll have to spend the night here. You'll be hooked onto and IV. if everything is fine in the morning, you can be on your way tomorrow." She said while packing up her supplies. After she left I began spacing out while looking at my arm. I was snapped out of it by the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattering on the floor. Elizabeth jumped off the table and came over so she could make sure I was okay.

"Ralts?" She asked softly while tugging on my pants. I picked her up gently and put her down on the bed next to me.

"I'm going to be alright Elizabeth, Nurse Joy patched up my arm, but we'll have to stay here for the night in order to make sure I'm alright." I told her, petting her head. She was resting her head on my thigh as we waited for Nurse Joy to return with the IV. After a few minutes, she came back and hooked me up.

"You should be alright by tomorrow morning. Your arm may be sore for a few days, but lucky for you, that's as bad as it'll get. The bite was deep but your muscles are intact so there was no permanent damage to your arm." She explained. She later brought us some food and left to deal with the rest of the patients. I let out Tide so he could eat with us and catch him up on what happened. I assume he got the gist of it, because kept a close eye on my right arm and refused to return into his ball after lunch. Luckily I was able to talk them out of following me to the bathroom after a few tries. Since I didn't pack any sort of entertainment I spent most of the day lying in bed with Elizabeth sleeping on my chest and Tide curled up on my stomach. I felt at peace having these two around. Elizabeth was no longer scared and Tide was just happy to be around us, even if he was just loafing off or exploring the room. After a few hours of resting and watching those two sleep on me, I finally thought of a fun way to pass time.

"Hey, Elizabeth! Wake up~" I whispered while nudging her.

"Ra~?" She yawned curiously.

"I've thought of a fun way to pass the time!" I whispered excitedly. She perked up a little, sensing my excitement.

"Ralts?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Let's practice your mind-reading skills! You can already sense my emotions, but if you could read my mind, I wouldn't even have to say a word during a Pokemon battle! Our opponent would have no way of countering!" I whispered excitedly. She stood up full of enthusiasm, then put her hands on her horn. She took a deep breath and began furiously concentrating. I once again felt the tingle in the back of my mind, like something was trying to enter it. This time the sensation lasted longer, yet it still quickly disappeared as Elizabeth plopped back down on my chest panting and out of breath.

"It must be really exhausting for her since she is still at a very low level." I thought to myself. Before I could open my mouth and tell her to take a break she stood up and began concentrating. The tingling feeling reappeared, this time spreading further into my mind, but stopped once again. Elizabeth was out of breath, yet she was still standing! This tiny Pokemon had more determination in her small body than anyone else I knew had in their normal-sized body. She collected herself, but this time instead of grabbing her horn and concentrating she began walking towards my head.

"Ralts!" Elizabeth said determinedly. She then put her forehead against mine. This time the tingling enveloped my entire mind! It was a feeling I couldn't even begin to describe. Then a feeling of success began enveloping me! A thought began to emerge within my mind.

"I did it!" Whispered the thought. Elizabeth collapsed looking exhausted after I heard the whisper. I gently picked up Elizabeth and put her down on my chest. I pet her head as she began to fall asleep out of exhaustion.

"I'm really proud of you Elizabeth!" I thought to myself. I saw a smile forming on her lips as the thought lingered on in my head. I fell asleep shortly after, but before I drifted off, I kept thinking about the little whisper I heard in my mind when Elizabeth entered it.

"What a girl!" I thought as succumbed to my sleepiness.


	5. Keep an open mind

**Disclaimer! I don't own pokemon, this is just a fanfiction!**

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I opened my eyes to an empty black void. No beginning or end just emptiness as far as the eye could see. I was floating without aim or direction.

"Is this a dream? Where am I? What's happening?" The thoughts echoed from all around the void. I heard something else pierce through the constant echo of my thoughts. It was another voice. Soft and muffled, yet it cut through the echoes.

"I ee…" Said the muffled voice. I couldn't understand what it was saying. It kept repeating, getting clearer and louder with each repetition.

"I ere! I'm EERE! I….." It began to fade away. I tried desperately to reach out to it, but there was nothing there except for this empty, black void.

"Don't go…." I whispered. I felt cold and alone. It felt like the void became blacker and emptier than before. Suddenly a spark lit up in the distance. But as soon as I saw it, it disappeared. I looked around desperately, hoping to see where it went. Then it lit up again! This time it was brighter and bigger. It began to grow and envelop the empty void in a pinkish light! It became blinding!

"I'M HERE!" Came the deafening shout. I jolted up from the hospital bed, gasping for air.

"Mudkip! Mud!" Tide screamed as he looked around frantically. I must've scared him awake when I jolted up. He gave me a grumpy look when he saw that there was no one else in the room but us.

"S-sorry, Tide! I had a bad dream." I explained, rubbing my forehead. He sighed then laid back down, but he kept an eye open for a few seconds before closing it. I didn't see Elizabeth on the bed. I thought I knocked her off when I jolted up, so I quickly looked down on the floor to see if she was there.

"Ralts?" Came the familiar voice from behind me. It was Elizabeth! She was sitting on the edge of my pillow. I sighed in relief, realising she was alright,

"I thought I knocked you off the bed!" I said, picking her up to put her back on my chest as I laid back down.

"You gave me quite the scare, missy!" I said, pointing at her like a lecturing parent. She grabbed my finger with both of her tiny arms and looked at me expectantly. I didn't know why she did that, so I gave her a confused look. She let go of my finger with her right hand, then she tapped it against her forehead with the same expecting look. I laid there puzzled by her behaviour. The gears in my head began to turn and I put it all together. The void, the voice and Elizabeth tapping her forehead. She was asking me if I was able to hear her. I couldn't believe it! She spoke to me telepathically! It must've been her thought that I heard whispered in my head the night before!

"That was you?" I asked excitedly. Her face lit up at my question.

"Ralts!" She said smiling. I looked at her confused.

"How come you didn't answer telepathically?" I questioned her. She let go of my finger and walked up to my head. She once again put her forehead against mine. The indescribable feeling enveloped me once again. My mind opened up allowing her to enter freely.

"Hard." Said a soft voice in my mind. It wasn't mine or anyone's I recognized. This was her voice. She was talking to me, even if it was just a single word. I was amazed by how far she came in such a short period of time. She stepped back and smiled at me. I smiled back and caressed her tiny cheek.

"You really are amazing, Elizabeth." I said softly. She giggled and grabbed my finger yet again, but this time she just put it down on my chest next to her.

"Ra?" She asked, pointing to my arm.

"Oh! It's all better!" I said happily. The pain eased and it was no longer swollen. However, it was a little bit sore, just like Nurse Joy said it might be. An hour or so later Nurse Joy came in to check up on me.

"Good morning!" Said Nurse Joy as she examined my IV bag.

"Good morning, Nurse Joy!" I replied with a smile.

"How's your arm? Did the swelling go down?" She asked looking at my arm.

"It's all better! It's a little sore but otherwise, it's perfectly fine." I said, flashing her a thumbs up with the bandaged arm. She smiled then removed the IV from my left hand. She walked over to my right so she could get a good look at my arm. When she held it up to examine it, Elizabeth tensed up a little. I pet her head with my left hand to calm her down.

"Nurse Joy won't hurt me, she was the one who patched up my arm." I said with a slight chuckle. She grabbed hold of my arm and looked into my eyes. I saw a flashback from her perspective. It was me screaming in pain when Nurse Joy cleaned my wounds. Nurse Joy picked up on our little conversation.

"It's really protective of you, huh? It must care about you a lot!" She said while removing my bandages. I chuckled then looked at my arm. It was looking a lot better. It was no longer red and the bite marks were clean and stitched up tightly. She looked at it for a bit before she reapplied clean bandages.

"You should be alright." She said reassuringly.

"I suggest you keep the bandages on for at least 3 more days, if not more. The wounds are closed up, but it's best to make sure it can't get infected." She explained. After she left I put Tide and Elizabeth on the floor so I could pack up my stuff. I decided to change clothes while I was at it, so I told those two to turn around while I got dressed. As I was taking off my pants I felt a wave of curiosity engulf my mind. I quickly realised why.

"Hey! No peeking!" I shouted, snapping my gaze towards Elizabeth.

"Ralts!" She yelped, covering her eyes and turning around. I glared at her for a little before proceeding to change, making sure to keep an eye on her. Before we left the centre I decided that we should get some breakfast. Elizabeth and Tide happily chowed down on the freshly prepared Pokemon food the centre provided, while I enjoyed some scrambled eggs. I felt a little guilty eating those eggs with all the Chansey around, but they didn't seem to mind. Once our bellies were full, I withdrew Tide back to his ball and put Elizabeth back on my shoulder. I paid for the services and said goodbye to Nurse Joy before heading outside. I stopped by the local store to buy some bandages and some necessities before continuing my journey. I pulled out my Pokenav to see which route I would have to take to get to Petalburg.

"Ra-ra-ra~" I heard Elizabeth giggle.

"What's so funny?" I asked with a chuckle. Elizabeth put her arm on my temple and a thought began to formulate in my head. It was an image of me in my boxers.

"You little pervert!" I said, poking her belly as I tried my best to hide my embarrassment, I began walking towards route 102. The first gym badge could be earned not too far from Petalburg, which meant it was the perfect rest stop for us.

"Even if you're a little creep, I couldn't wish for a better travel companion than you, Elizabeth." I turned to her smiling. She laid her head onto mine. A warm feeling began to envelop me.

"Want. Stay. With. You." I heard her soft voice in my head. I couldn't help but smile. I marched on, ready to face any challenge the world may have for us.

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**Authors note: I know the pacing is a bit slow, but don't worry the upcoming chapters will contain more action! Please leave a review or criticism, as I wish to improve in order to bring you better content!**


	6. Route to Petalburg pt1

**Disclaimer: Even after my numerous attempts, I still don't own Pokemon. Apparently 20 dollars ain't good enough for them. **

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The summer heat began reaching its peak around noon. Elizabeth and I were drenched in sweat only a few hours after leaving Oldale Town. I sluggishly made my way down route 102 as Elizabeth mentally complained about the heat.

"Hot. No like." Her soft voice whined in my head. I covered her head with a napkin to give her some shade. It wasn't very effective, but she appreciated the gesture. She leaned against my face, slightly scraping me with her horn as a show of gratitude. After what seemed like forever out in the heat I spotted a lake next to the route. Elizabeth and I both perked up as soon as we saw it.

"Let's stop here for a minute, it's way too hot to be walking right now." I insisted. Elizabeth happily agreed with a bell-like trilling noise. I carefully put down Elizabeth then proceeded to set down my backpack next to a big tree a couple of yards from the shore. I wasted no time taking off my sweat-soaked shirt and pants, throwing them behind be and accidentally covering Elizabeth with them. She managed to escape from her stinky cloth prison and turned towards me with her cheeks puffed up. Her expression quickly changed and she covered her eyes with both hands after she saw me standing there in my boxers.

"R-R-Ralts…" Elizabeth mumbled. Her memory began to invade my mind. It was of me when I was changing. I put two and two together.

"Oooh! It's okay, Elizabeth. I only yelled at you that time because you were peeking." I chuckled. "You can take your hands away." I reassured her while I reached for my belt to let Tide enjoy the lake with us. Elizabeth moved her hands away from her eyes, but she was still completely red and only partially from the heat. I laughed and pat her on the head then I tossed Tide's ball in front of us.

"Mudkip!" Tide chirped. He looked around then quickly took off towards the glistening lake as soon as he saw it. He dove in headfirst with a small splash. Not to be outperformed by my little buddy I began sprinting towards the lake.

"Cannonball!" My splash whipped up a small tsunami that ended up washing Tide out to the shore. He got up, shook his head and jumped back into the water. Tide and I happily splashed around in the cool water enjoying the warm summer afternoon. After a few water guns to the face, I noticed that Elizabeth was just sitting next to my backpack and looking at us playing in the water.

"Hey! Elizabeth! Come here!" I waved towards Elizabeth. She hesitantly got up from her spot and slowly walked to the lakeshore. She stopped at the edge of the lake and gave me a nervous expression. I was confused.

"What's the matter?" I asked getting out of the water and sitting down next to her. She looked up at me and I once again felt her presence in my mind. She didn't say a word, she was just digging through my mind.

"Can't swim." Her soft voice echoed through my mind. She must've been looking for that word, that's why she took so long to say anything. I was impressed by how good she was getting at the whole telepathy thing. She kept leaping forward and getting better and better. Now she just needed to learn how to make a proper sentence.

"How about I teach you how to swim?" I smiled scooping her up. She gave me a nervous smile and bobbed her head in agreement. I walked into the water with Elizabeth tensely sitting on my shoulder. Once we reached a depth where her head would still be above the water but was deep enough for her to swim, I gently put her down into the water. I held her tiny arms to comfort her, but she was still visibly nervous.

"Alright, Elizabeth! I'm going to pull you through the water and I need you to flail your legs as I do." I tried my best to explain. She looked a little confused, so she let herself into my head to better understand what I meant. I began pulling her around in the shallow water as Tide was still splashing around in the water and picking on the nearby Magikarp every now and then. Elizabeth tried her best to follow my instructions, but since her dress was longer than her legs it wasn't very efficient. After watching her struggle a little, I picked her up and carried her back to shore. She shook herself like a wet Poochyena to try and get dry. It made me chuckle.

"Your dress is too long, you can't swim like this." I stated while examining her dress. "Does it come off?" I bluntly asked. She turned pink and covered her face with her tiny arms and nodded.

"Great, then let's take it off!" I reached for her dress, but she quickly grabbed hold of my hand and let out a loud bell noise. She sent an image into my mind, it was of me changing once again. I gave her a confused look to which she responded by flashing the image into my mind, except this time it was a close up of my boxers. I quickly withdrew my hand from her dress.

"Y-you're naked under there?" I asked turning a few shades pinker. She nodded still covering her face. "W-well, maybe you don't have to swim, how about I just carry you around in the water." I said facing the water to hide my embarrassment.

"Yes please." Elizabeth's soft voice shakily chimed in my head. She was also averting her gaze. We returned to a shallower part of the lake so Elizabeth could just walk around in the water. Once her nervousness faded we splashed water at each other for fun. She had to use both arms to rival my splashing powers. After a few big splashes, she flashed a devilish grin and lifted both her hands to her horn. The water around her began to glow in a blue light. The water rose up and pooled into a big ball. She was using confusion!

"Ra~" She smirked throwing the now watermelon-sized ball of water at me. I fell back on collision and landed with a huge splash. She stood victorious with one arm raised to the air and soft pants escaping her mouth. I would've been upset if anyone else threw a watermelon-sized water balloon at me, but all I felt at that moment was pride. My Ralts, My Elizabeth grew so much stronger in such a short amount of time. Two days ago she couldn't even use telepathy and now here we are!

"Wow" Was all I could mutter as I sat up looking at Elizabeth in amazement. Her confidant smile grew even bigger as she saw me sitting there flabbergasted. "You're really amazing, Elizabeth!" I praised while her picking her up. I set her down on my shoulder and whistled for Tide, who seemed to be having a turf war with the lake's inhabitants. He was staring down a pretty angry looking Marill standing on a mossy rock in the deeper part of the lake. He growled at the round blue mouse before turning around and swimming back to sore towards us. The Marill kept an eye on Tide until he made it to shore then jumped into the water and swam away.

"How about some lunch?" I suggested picking up Tide from the sandy shore. He happily agreed.

"Mud! Mud!" Tide kept repeating excitedly. I went back for my backpack with Elizabeth on my shoulder as usual and Tide held firmly under my armpit. I set them down before unpacking some Pokemon food I bought this morning alongside and onigiri.

"Huh. Looks kinda like a donut." I thought to myself as I continued preparing lunch. I put down Tide's and Elizabeth's bowl in front of them and filled up with the brown pebble looking food. They happily chowed down on their meal and so did I. Elizabeth stopped eating halfway through and began to pull her bowl towards me. I wondered if she would offer me a bite again in exchange for a bite of my onigiri. She pulled it into my lap then proceeded to sit down between on my legs like it was her own personal throne. I swear I felt my heart skip a beat. I pat her head as she finished her meal with a satisfied sigh.

"Glad you guys liked it!" I chuckled putting their bowls back in my pack. Tide curled up in the shade of the tree to take a nap while Elizabeth and I laid down in the sun so we could dry up. After a quick nap and getting dressed I decided it was time to move on. The sun wasn't as searing hot as it was a few hours ago, so I thought it would be manageable to travel now. We said goodbye to the lake and I withdrew tide back into his ball and I once again set off towards Petalburg City. An hour or two went by uneventfully on our journey down route 102. Elizabeth was humming an unfamiliar tune and nuzzling herself against my face every now and then. The soft whistling of wind between the trees and the warm embrace of the afternoon sun put me in a calm trance. However, I was rudely snapped out of it by a not so friendly shout.

"You there with the doll on your shoulder!" Shouted a kid around my age. He was walking towards us with swift steps and a Pokeball in each hand. "Battle me!" He demanded.

"Wha- Who are you?" I asked taken back by his sudden demand.

"I'm Jeremy, a Pokemon trainer like you!" He proudly stated. "Fighting wild Pokemon just won't cut it, I need a real battle!" Jeremy said with a smirk. I felt Elizabeth tense up on my shoulder. She put her hand on my temple and I felt her step inside my mind.

"We fight?" Her concern filled voice echoed in my head. I flashed her a confident smile as I unclipped Tide's ball from my belt.

"Alright, Jeremy! Let's battle!" I shouted enthusiastically. "Tide! Come on out buddy!" Tide jumped out of his ball ready to battle. He must've still been hyped up from his earlier squabble with the lake Pokemon. Jeremy was sizing up tide for a few seconds before throwing his down his first Pokemon.

"Go Wurmple!" His words were oozing with confidence. "Use string shot!" Jeremy ordered. His Wurmple reeled back for a second then shot out a sticky white substance. Tide was able to dodge the attack and now it was our turn to attack!

"Tide, send it flying with a water gun!" I commanded pointing at Jeremy's Wurmple. Tide planted his feet and took in a deep breath before releasing a powerful stream of water hitting the Wurmple dead on. Tide's attack had so much force behind it that Jeremy's Pokemon flew back a good 5 feet before landing on the ground knocked out cold.

"Mud!" Tide yelped confidently raising his chin up. Jeremy's jaw dropped along with is confidence.

"You did it buddy!" I cheered scooping up Tide into my embrace. Jeremy silently withdrew his Wurmple then putting it back on his belt. I was about to do the same, but Jeremy interrupted me.

"The hell do you think you're doing? I've still got one more Pokemon!" He pushed the words through his teeth. Hearing this Tide jumped down from my arms with a cocky expression on his face. At this point I realized how much easier it would've been if I just called out Tide during the Zigzagoon attack. Maybe my arm wouldn't have been bitten, maybe Elizabeth would've run off into the forest, never to be seen again. I didn't have time to finish my thought process as Jeremy furiously threw out his second Pokeball. My right arm went numb and I could feel a horrible mixture of fear and hate invading my mind as his second Pokemon came out.

"Go Zigzagoon!" Jeremy's words froze me in place. Before I could even move I felt Elizabeth hop off my shoulder. I realized that awful emotion which I felt was hers, it was her fear and her hate towards that Zigzagoon that invaded my mind.

"I protect." Her once sweet tone turned into a powerful determined one. Tide looked at Elizabeth surprised then his eyes lit up and he stepped aside. Elizabeth must've told him to do so. She was no longer the frail, scared little pokemon. She was Elizabeth. My protector.

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**Author's note: I apologize for the long pause, but not for the cliffhanger. I was completely drained of all artistic abilities that I had. It took me an hour to write a sentence and then I immediately deleted it. And this went on for weeks until like a Christmas miracle, I got my mojo back! I'll try to update on a weekly basis because I really do love writing this story. I'm thinking Wednesdays. We'll see! Anywho! Happy holidays! And stay tuned for pt2!**


	7. Route to Petalburg pt2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or even a share of the Pokemon corporation, but I do own a copy of Omega Ruby and I am addicted.**

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Her once sweet and playful demeanour was replaced by an aura of hatred and anger. Elizabeth eyed down the Zigzagoon with such intensity that she forced it to take a few steps backwards. It looked back at Jeremy begging for reassurance that this was a good idea. Jeremy gave a harsh to his Zigzagoon then pointed at Elizabeth.

"Don't be a coward attack that little pipsqueak! Zigzagoon tackle!" Frustration spewed from Jeremy's mouth as he commanded. The Zigzagoon locked its eyes on Elizabeth and charged forward. I know from personal experience how fast one of those little boggers can be, so I was worried Elizabeth wouldn't be able to react in time. Before I could give her a command she raised her arm to silence me.

"No. I protect Eric." Her soft voice rang in my head. She lowered her arm down bracing herself. Just before Jeremy's pokemon could land a hit Elizabeth vanished into thin air the reappeared 2 feet to the left panting and looking a little shaken. She used teleport to dodge an attack she otherwise wouldn't be able to! A mixture of pride and worry coursed through me. She really impressed me with her move, but at the same time if she was already getting out of breath she would not last long. She felt my worry and tried to comfort me by standing straight and attempting to flex her tiny little arm, which was more amusing then reassuring. As Jeremy's Zigzagoon prepared for its next attack Elizabeth faced straight towards the little beast.

"It won't even listen to its trainer's commands, this should be easy! Get it Zigzagoon!" It again began charging toward Elizabeth and as soon as it did Elizabeth raised both her arm in front of her. A faint blue glow enveloped the Zigzagoon and it began lifting off of the ground at increasing speeds before mercilessly getting slammed back into the ground creating a curtain of dust around the impact zone. Elizabeth seemed even more out of breath than before. Shaping water and throwing it is one thing, but catching a moving target and moving it around with impressive force is a whole other thing. She was reaching her limits, but that Zigzagoon suffered a serious hit, but not serious enough. The Zigzagoon charged through the dust cloud and slammed straight into Elizabeth. The impact sent her hurling back quite a few feet before she landed with a thud.

"Elizabeth! No!" I cried out running towards her. I tried to help her up, but she swatted away my hands. She slowly got up and took a few steps forward.

"N...No… I…Protect this…Time…" Her soft echoing voice seemed distant and shaky. In this state, it must've been a strain just to use telepathy, but she didn't care. She wanted to protect me as I protected her last time. Whether it was to prove herself or to repay my kindness it was wrong. I couldn't let Elizabeth risk her life for either of those. I stepped in front of her, preventing her from getting back to the fight.

"That's enough, I won't let you risk your wellbeing to prove something to me." I kneeled down so I could look her in the eye as I said it. She looked down, avoiding my gaze. She led her right arm with her left. It must've got hurt by the Zigzagoon's tackle. I slowly raised her chin with my index finger so she would look at me. Her large red eyes met mine for the first time. They would be mesmerizing if they weren't full of tears.

"I protect you!" Her voice was clearer than ever and was followed by a wave of a warm feeling that I didn't understand at the time. I wiped away her tear and gave her a soft smile.

"You don't have to protect me, to repay my kindness. You shouldn't feel like you have to do this by yourself either. You're my partner now, Elizabeth." Her tears stopped flowing and the warm feeling intensified at my words. "We're a team, so let's work like one!" She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into my palm.

"Yes, we work together!" Elizabeth's soft voice felt no longer like an echo in my head, but as if she spoke it directly to me. I stepped to the side and we walked back to Jeremy. Tide stood guard as all of this went down. He was able to scare Jeremy enough in the first turn that he wouldn't attack it recklessly. "Thanks buddy, Elizabeth will take it from here!" I pat him on the head to which he replied with a happy chirp.

"About time you and your stuffed toy decided to come back to continue our battle" Jeremy smirked. I paid no attention to his remark.

"Let's go Elizabeth!" I exclaimed. Elizabeth mustered all her remaining energy and leapt back into action. Jeremy's Zigzagoon did the same, it was badly hurt by Elizabeth's confusion attack from before, but it wouldn't go down without a fight. Before I could give her a command she invaded my mind with far force than ever before. Instead of a tingling feeling and a faint presence, I felt a solid grip on my mind and I felt Elizabeth strongly.

"We are a team! We work together!" Elizabeth's voice was full of determination. A memory flashed into my head. It was of me from her point of view.

"You can already sense my emotions, but if you could read my mind, I wouldn't even have to say a word during a Pokemon battle! Our opponent would have no way of countering!" I was astounded by her psychic development. I had no time to awe at Elizabeth's prowess as Jeremy began his turn. His Zigzagoon charged straight forward in an attempt to finish the fight quickly. I didn't even have to say a word, Elizabeth responded to my thoughts. She teleported 2 feet above the Zigzagoon which surprised it enough to lose its footing and tumble. However, it quickly shook itself off and readied itself for another attack. Elizabeth quickly moved in front of the nearest tree as our link was still holding strong.

"Hit it already!" Jeremy's voice was full of frustration and anger at this point. "Finish it off with a tackle!" The Zigzagoon wasted no time charging straight for Elizabeth without a second thought. Exactly as planned. I waited until the last moment to order Elizabeth to teleport. The Zigzagoon crashed headfirst into the tree behind Elizabeth and she safely appeared on my shoulder exhausted but with a smile bigger than herself.

"We did it Elizabeth!" I shouted excitedly holding her into the air. Tide was excitedly jumping around us congratulating Elizabeth's victory. Jeremy returned his pokemon back into its ball with a defeated frown. I would've consoled him if he didn't flip me off and run off towards Oldale town. I put down Elizabeth and kneeled down to congratulate her and Tide.

"You guys are amazing! I'm really proud of you!" I pat them both on the head is I showered them with compliments and praise. I noticed that Elizabeth was still out of breath and she looked pretty beat up. I still felt the link between our minds holding strongly but it seemed to weaken at irregular intervals. This must've been why she was still out of breath. Holding this up might burn through her energy reserves rather fast if she doesn't stop.

"You can stop the link Elizabeth, you might pass out if you strain yourself." I smiled poking her horn. She held my finger with her tiny arms and pulled it to her face. She looked up at me with those beautiful red eyes and stared into mine.

"But I feel close to Eric like this." Her lovely voice was once again accompanied by that same warm feeling. I couldn't help but smile and blush a little.

"Well, how about I put you back on my shoulder? Then you can feel close to me and not strain yourself." She agreed after a short pause and let go of my finger. "What about you buddy?" I asked looking down at Tide. He shook his head then looked at Elizabeth giving her a wink. I was confused, but I thought nothing of it. Maybe he wanted to congratulate her one more time before resting in his ball. I withdrew tide and clipped him back on my belt then I continued down route 102 so we could at least reach Petalburg by nightfall. Elizabeth was no longer using her psychic powers so she wouldn't over exhaust herself, but she was still hurt by the Zigzagoon's tackle. I gave her a potion which I luckily bought before embarking on the trip, but I still wanted to get her checked out at the Pokemon centre. The rest of our journey down route 102 was pretty uneventful. We saw a weird coloured Seedot, so I made sure to stay away from it in case it was sick. As expected we got the edge of Petalburg by dusk. It was a pretty big city at least twice the size of Oldale town. I found a map of the city and headed for the Pokemon centre. It was near the Petalburg city gym, so I thought I should give it a try the next day. I was about halfway to the centre before a familiar voice made me halt.

"Eric? Is that you?" I turned around and saw Brendan running and waving at me.

"Hey, Brendan!" I greeted back,

"Whoa is that a Ralts?" Brendan asked pointing at Elizabeth. "So cool! I haven't seen one since I helped out Wally get his first Pokemon!" Elizabeth looked a little uncomfortable by how close Brendan got. Brendan noticed this and took a step back.

"Yupp! This is Elizabeth, I found her in the woods, and I rescued her from a pack of Zigzagoon." I explained holding up my bandaged arm. I felt Elizabeth get less anxious the more I talked with Brendan. She held out her arm expectantly at Brendan.

"Huh?" Brendan looked confused. "What does it want?" He asked a little weirded out.

"A handshake I suppose," I replied matter-of-factly. "That's how I introduced myself to her, she's a fast learner and incredibly smart!" I boasted. Brendan smiled and reached out a finger to shake her hand.

"Hi there little Ralts!" Brendan suddenly began looking around confused. "Who said that?" He kept looking around. "Did you hear that?" He looked at me creeped out. MY expression answered for me. "Some little girl said her name was Elizabeth." I put two and two together.

"Oh! That was Elizabeth." I pointed at her. Elizabeth was smiling confidently. Brendan's jaw dropped. "She didn't like that you called her Ralts. She has a name you know." I lectured him. He apologized to Elizabeth and we laughed a little.

"You guys headed for the Pokemon centre?" Brendan asked as we walked down the city streets. I caught him up on the battle with Jeremy. I've never seen Brendan more excited. "That's so cool! I've got to get myself a psychic pokemon!" He hyped. Brendan caught me up on what he was doing the rest of the way He caught a Taillow and a Poochyena on his way here then he hung out with his dad Norman the Petalburg city gym leader. He warned me not to challenge him, a warning I took to heart. We parted ways at a cross-section. Apparently he would sleep at his dad's place. I waved goodbye then Elizabeth and I made our way down the empty city street towards the Pokemon centre for a good night's rest.

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**Author's note: Sorry for the long pause! I really tried to publish on the last Wednesday, but a few things came up. *cough * omega ruby *cough *. But here it is! Chapter 7! I'll try and be a frequent uploader in the future and you can definitely expect at least 2-3 chapter every month. Leave a review as both negative and positive feedback would help a lot in improving the series.**


	8. Dream girl

**Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, this is just a fanfiction for entertainment porpuses and also for improving my writing abilities.**

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By the time we made it to the Pokemon center, Elizabeth was half asleep on my shoulder. She was breathing softly which was sometimes interrupted by a disgruntled bell-like sound as she tried to readjust herself. My feet were sore from walking all day and I could hardly wait to shower and rest. A nurse joy welcomed us from her front desk as we entered. She seemed to be full of energy, which confused me until I saw the steaming cup of coffee on her desk and 4 torn up packs of instant coffee in a pile next to it.

"Good evening sir! How may I help you?" Nurse Joy got up from her desk as she greeted us.

"We're looking for a room to spend the night." Nurse Joy looked behind me with an eyebrow raised. "Me and my Pokemon, I mean." I corrected.

"Oh! Of course!" Her lack of sleep showed despite the numerous cups of coffee coursing through her. "Right this way sir!" She led us to a room and gave me the key before wishing us a good night.

"You too Nurse Joy!" I swear I could hear her scream internally. I entered the room then gently scooped off the half-asleep Elizabeth off my shoulder and put her down on the floor before letting Tide out as well.

"Mwud~Kip." He yawned. The little guy was also pretty tired. He wasted no time and hopped onto the bed and curled up before I could even say good night. I set down my backpack on the desk and fished out my pajamas. It was nothing fancy. Just some loose-fitting boxers with a checkers pattern and a long-sleeved shirt designed to look like a Snorlax belly.

"Alright you two, I'm going to shower, but you guys can just sleep if you want to." I whispered. It seems Tide already took the initiative as he was fast asleep. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was awake, but I could tell that she was rather tired. She was looking at me with her head slightly cocked to the side.

"What's a shower?" Her soft voice echoed strongly in my mind. The pleasant warm feeling from earlier accompanied her question.

"How about I show you?" I replied in a hushed tone. I felt it would be smarter to show rather than explain and I could be in the shower a lot sooner. The room we were provided with had its own shower and bathroom unlike the Pokemon centers in the city where I'm from. They had a common shower and bathroom, separated by gender of course. Elizabeth was really curious about everything in the bathroom, especially the toilet. Without thinking I began undressing. I was about to take off my boxers, but I was interrupted.

"Ra!" Elizabeth yelped covering her eyes. I was so tired that I became completely oblivious to the situation.

"Oh right." I thought to myself. "Well, I guess I can just shower in my boxers. You can uncover your eyes, Elizabeth" I took off my pants and placed them on the sink with my shirt. Elizabeth slowly moved her hands away from her brilliant red eyes to reveal an embarrassed smile and a blush that made her face match her eyes. I stepped in the shower and motioned for her to join me. She hesitantly obliged. She got a little spooked when I turned on the shower, but she quickly began to enjoy the warm sensation.

"This is fun! I like." She giggled as she swatted at the water. Most of the dirt from today's scuffle washed off of her as she was playing, but her hair seemed to retain a lot of it.

"Let me wash your hair, it's a little dirty." I kneeled down with a shampoo bottle in hand. She gave me a confused nod then turned back to play with the water again. I got a good handful of it and began scrubbing her green scruffy hair.

"Slimy…" Elizabeth said in a slightly grossed out tone. She eased up soon after and began to enjoy getting her head scrubbed. She even started making a purr like bell noise and pushing her head into my palm. I chuckled then directed the showerhead at her to wash off the shampoo. She pouted a little after I stopped, she must've really enjoyed being pet. Shortly after I turned off the shower and reached for a towel. I wrapped up Elizabeth in a hand towel, it was perfect for her size. Turns out that washing a Ralts' hair with shampoo and drying it off makes it floof up. Luckily I brought a comb with me and I managed to return her hair to the usual style.

"How was your first shower, Elizabeth?" I asked as I was toweling off.

"Fun! Can we do it every day?" Her voice was full of excitement.

"There are no showers on the road, but we can whenever we stay in a city." I pat her head then ushered her out so I could change. I hung the towels to dry, changed then came back out to find Elizabeth still awake sitting on the bed waiting for me. When she saw me I once again felt that warm feeling invade my body and mind. Her powers were growing stronger and stronger each passing day. I gave her a tired smile and crawled into bed, making sure not to wake Tide on the bottom corner of the bed. Elizabeth curled up next to me, burying her head into my chest along with her horn. It was a little uncomfortable, but her soft cooing made me unable to move her away. I fell asleep still enveloped in that wonderful warm feeling.

"Eric! Can you hear me?" Elizabeth's echoing voice awoke me to an open white void. Unlike the black void from before this vast world did not feel empty, I felt at peace as I scanned my surroundings, looking for Elizabeth. This white world had gravity and a hard surface, which felt like marble, yet it was blended in perfectly with the rest of the vast emptiness.

"Elizabeth! Where are you?" I shouted into the void to no answer. I took a few daring steps forward, determined to find my Elizabeth. I took no more than a couple of steps before I was blinded by a bright pink light. The light loomed closer to me as I shielded my eyes and became less blinding. It began morphing and shifting as if it was trying to take shape.

"Mm meeh!" Came the muffled sound from the glowing figure. It stopped shifting and began to take a stable shape. What seemed like tendril or an arm was reaching out for me, but just before it could touch me the figure erupted into a blast of light, blowing me into the empty void.

"Ghah!" I gasped for air as my eyes shot open. I was in our room at the poke center, this was real. I rubbed my eyes rolling to my back and let out a sigh. "I hope this won't become a regular thing." I thought to myself.

"I'm sorry, should I stop?" Elizabeth's sweet innocent voice echoed in my mind. I couldn't help but smile, she sounded concerned, but also adorable.

"Wait. What?" I shot up looking at Elizabeth. "This void, these dreams were you?" I asked with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. She looked a little taken back, she must've misunderstood my tone. She looked at the bed and twiddled her tiny hands.

"Y-yes…" She sheepishly said. "I just wanted to be closer, but I'll stop if you don't like it…" She looked up at me with those big red eyes. I could tell she was about to tear up. She is so adorable.

"Don't cry, Elizabeth." I held her face and wiped her tear away with my thumb. "I didn't mean to sound harsh, I was just really excited and surprised." I reassured her in a hushed tone.

"So, you're not mad?" She asked, taking my hand and holding it in front of her.

"Of course not! I pat her on the head. "You're too cool to be mad at. Not to mention adorable…" She yelped and covered her face in embarrassment at my compliment. I laughed a little at her reaction then looked around the room. Tide was still asleep, drooling on the sheets as he did. The morning sunlight was beaming through the window. I glanced at the clock above the door. It said 8:45 sharp.

"Just about time for breakfast." I mumbled to myself.

"Mudkip?" Tide sprang up looking around, trying to find the breakfast I was talking about. Once he realized there was no such breakfast he squinted at me then let out a mighty yawn. "Muwd!" He yawned walking up to me and settling down in my lap, then nodded at the still pink Elizabeth in a sleepy manner. I pat him on the head before scooping him off and gently plopping him back down on the blanket so I could get ready.

"I'll change clothes then we can get something to eat." I said getting out of bed. "I wanna walk around the city for a while before we move on." I grabbed a new shirt out of my backpack along with my pants from yesterday and changed in the bathroom. When I walked out I saw Tide and Elizabeth trying their best to pull the heavy blanket over the bed so it would look like how it was before.

"What are you guys doing?" I chuckled at the sight. They looked up, then at each other, then back to me. I felt Elizabeth invade my mind, she was searching for something, perhaps a word or a phrase.

"Customary." I heard her voice after a few seconds. I cracked a smile and decided to help them. I fixed the corners of the blanket and fluffed up the pillow. I pat their heads and promised them an extra treat next to breakfast. Tide's eyes lit up at my offer. I swung my pack on my back before scooping up those two. One on each shoulder. I looked around the room, to make sure I left nothing behind.

"Let's get some breakfast." I cheerfully exclaimed and headed out the door.

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**Author's note: My dear readers, I'm sorry for the long pause and his slow (little sloppy) chapter. I've been very busy since my last post so I had little time to write. I'm trying to schedule myself to get my life in a groove so I have time for myself and time to create new chapters. To be honest I haven't fully thought out the story past chapter 4 and I have gone with the flow (which may show). But I really love these characters and this story and I hope you, my dear readers do too. I'll try to be somewhat consistent and decent with the chapters. Please leave a review or any question you may have about the series and I will reply as fast as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a fantastic day/evening!**


	9. The maid and the omelet

**Disclaimer! I do not own pokemon, Nintendo or a lot of money.**

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Elizabeth was happily chirping on my shoulder as we left the room and headed for the lobby.

"What are you so happy about?" I giggled as Elizabeth's infectious joy began to overtake me.

"I'm just happy to be here!" Her voice sounding crystal clear in my head. It even felt like her words came directly from her mouth rather than from within my mind. Her telepathic development was staggering, so much so that I nearly fell down the stairs in my admiration. The lobby had a few disgruntled looking visitors lining up to the front desk where Nurse Joy welcomed them with her usual smile and with fewer bags under her eyes.

"My dad wiped the floor with them, so they're here to get their Pokemon patched up." Brendan's voice snapped me out of my confusion at the line of people so early in the morning. He got up from the comfy Pokecenter lobby couch to greet me.

"Seriously, do you and May even sleep?" I asked eyeing him. He laughed off my question thinking it was just a joke, but I went with it to not sour the moment. He suddenly turned his excited gaze towards Elizabeth.

"Good morning to you too!" Brendan cheerfully greeted Elizabeth and reached a finger out for her, so he could shake her tiny hand. Elizabeth shook his finger with both her tiny hands, much to our amusement. "May is gonna lose it when she meets you!" Brendan exclaimed.

"She does have a soft spot for cute Pokemon." I chimed in. Elizabeth turned pink at my compliment, giving Brendan and me a good chuckle. "How come you came to visit me?" I quickly changed the topic before Elizabeth suffered permanent discoloration.

"Well, I'm heading off to Rustboro city today and I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." Brendan explained. "I'm not being mushy, I just didn't want you to waste your time looking for me in the city or at dad's gym." He said with a smirk. I laughed a little and waved him off before turning back towards the line of grumpy challengers. I walked past them and put the room key on Nurse Joy's desk.

"Thanks for the room, Nurse Joy. We tidied up the room before leaving." I flashed her a subtle smile. She smiled back, trying her best to hide how she was already getting fed up with the grumpy trainers waiting in line. We exited the center to the sight of the busy city of Petalburg. Seeing all the people on the street, the cars on the road and smelling the familiar scent of the city made me feel a bit homesick. Elizabeth, however, was a little tense. She did not care for the city scent or the busy streets full of people. On the way out I managed to grab a map of the city from a stand in the lobby. To make the city more appealing for Elizabeth I thought we could have breakfast at a local café instead of eating at the Pokecenter again.

"What's that?" Elizabeth pointed at the map.

"This is a map. It's a drawing of a location, we use it to navigate." I said excitedly. It was fun teaching Elizabeth new things.

"Map." She repeated. "It's a funny word!" Elizabeth giggled.

"Hah! I guess it is kinda funny." I chuckled. "I thought we could eat breakfast at a café this time. Maybe then you wouldn't feel so tense about being in the city if you had a nice experience." I suggested. Elizabeth looked away shyly, she must've felt bad for being tense in a place I was so comfortable in. I pat her head and started walking in the direction of the nearest café I could find, which was the Pokemon M. Café. It was only a few blocks away and had a 4/5 star rating so it seemed like the best choice. Elizabeth started to loosen up as I navigated us through the bustling city. She began actively looking around and even stopping me every now and then to get a good look at some stores. She was especially intrigued by a lingerie store that advertised clothing for both people and pokemon. Petalburg was among the now majority of places where Human and Pokemon relationships were considered normal and accepted. I never had any problems with it, but my dad always thought it was unnatural and gross.

"Is that the place?" Elizabeth pointed ahead of us excitedly. I looked up from the map and my jaw dropped.

"Pokemon Maid Café!" I shouted in realizing what the M stood for. "Maybe we should find another place to eat." I suggested, turning towards Elizabeth a little flustered.

"But I'm starving! And Tide must also be hungry!" Elizabeth whined. "Why can't we eat here? Is a Maid a bad thing?" She looked at me questioningly with those big beautiful red eyes of her until I couldn't take it anymore. I gave in to her cuteness and stepped into the café.

"Welcome Master! How may we be of service?" A blonde maid welcomed us with a smile. Next to her stood a Pokemon that I had never seen before. It was almost as tall as her and wore a maid outfit similar to the blonde maid.

"B-uh. Uhm, Uh-I." I blurted out. "Ahem. I would like a table please." I managed to force a proper sentence out, following my awe-filled mumble. Elizabeth tried her best to hide her giggles behind her tiny hands. The maid Pokémon's lips quickly curled into a smile ready to burst with laughter seeing Elizabeth laugh at my embarrassment as I slowly turned pink. The blonde maid led us to a table in the corner of the café with the maid Pokemon following closely behind. While I would've preferred a seat by the window, this table came with a couch like extended seat that ran along the wall of the café.

"Here you go, master!" The blonde maid chirped, handing me a menu. "You may tell your order to Gabrielle, she'll inform the chefs." She explained while pointing at the elegant looking Pokemon next to her. She bowed and promptly left to help the other costumers in the café. As it was still quite early, or at least by my standards, the menu mainly consisted of breakfast items with a few more heavy meals scattered about. It also had a page for Pokemon specific food items, some came on bowls and some in plates. Since I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to get for myself and my buddies I decided to let them choose their own dish while I make up my mind.

"Come on out Tide, let's get you some breakfast." Tide erupted out of his ball, having heard one of his favorite words. However, his enthusiasm quickly turned into confusion as he looked around the café, then the floating Pokemon in front of him.

"Mud?" Tide asked, turning back towards me.

"No no, we're not fighting for breakfast, she'll get us breakfast." Tide's eyes lit up at my explanation. He quickly hopped up next to me and intently stared at the menu which I lowered down for my vertically challenged companions, so they could choose their own meals.

"Hm. I was right." Elizabeth looked up from the menu. "I can't read." She stated matter of factly. I snickered and pat her on the head. The Poke maid also let out a quiet bell-like chuckle.

"How about you two just tell me what you guys are in the mood for and I'll pick out the closest thing to it from the menu." I suggested, raising the menu from my lap. Elizabeth and Tide looked at each other at my offer.

"Tide said he doesn't care as long as it's yummy." Elizabeth said after a short pause. "And I would like the same thing as you…" She sheepishly continued. That girl was physically incapable of not being adorable.

"We'll have 2 omelets and a large berry plate, please." I politely told the elegant Pokemon our order, then handed her the menu. She gave us a gentle smile, bowed then floated away towards the kitchen. I couldn't help but stare in awe as she so effortlessly glided across the room.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Elizabeth's soft voice broke me out of my awe-filled trance. She was holding my arm with those tiny hands of hers and looking up at me expectantly.

"W-Well, I mean for a Pokemon she's pretty!" I blurted out embarrassed. "She looks elegant and graceful, you know? Like a pretty flower." I tried to make my earlier statement sound less awkward. Elizabeth's tiny lips curled into a sweet smile as I tried my best to make the situation less embarrassing.

"She's a Gardevoir. The fully evolved version of my species." She explained excitedly. "One day, I'll be like her and then you'll find me pretty…" That indescribable warm feeling accompanied Elizabeth's words. The warmth invaded both my mind and body, paralyzing me for a moment. She let go of my arms, her smile looking sweeter than ever.

"You're already pretty, Elizabeth." I picked her up and plopped her down on the table. "Pretty cute that is!" I chuckled as Elizabeth started to turn pink. She puffed up her cheeks and swatted away my fingers. While we waited for our order to arrive I played with Elizabeth on the table as she insisted on staying up there. Seeing that in the meanwhile Tide claimed my lap as his bed, she didn't have too many reasons to come down. She especially liked it when I would caress her hair or brush it away from her eyes, so I could get a look at those adorable red jewels.

"Mud!" Tide suddenly chirped, perking up from my lap. I looked up and saw a tall red Pokemon in a maid outfit carrying two plates and a bowl in her hands. She easily towered over me, yet her aura wasn't that of dominance or intimidation. Her expression betrayed her stature. The red maid was looking a bit embarrassed and afraid of stumbling. Her blue eyes were darting all over the café from behind her quirky looking glasses. When she spotted me she picked up her pace, almost tripping on the bag of a fellow customer.

"Bl-aze!" The red maid said in an awkward tone as she placed our food on the table. Due to her stature, she really had to bend over just to place a few plates down on our table, making her feel even more embarrassed. She swiftly straightened herself once her hands were free and bowed before hastily making her way back towards the kitchen. In her hurry, however, she didn't notice that her nametag fell off. I quickly picked it up and called out for her.

"Uhm, Miss Charlotte? You forgot your nametag!" She bolted back to our table at blazing speeds, snatching her name tag out of my open palm before bowing once again and running back to the kitchen. I stared on, dumbfounded at what just happened.

"Mud! Mud! Ki-ip!" Tide profusely tried to jump onto the table from my lap, however, his short legs wouldn't let him. I placed the bowl full of berries next to me, much to his delight. Elizabeth also had some trouble with her meal. She stood in awe over the massive omelet in front of her. The eggstrosity was nearly as long as she was tall, and so were the silverware provided. She looked up at me, unsure of what to do with such a feast.

"It's okay if you don't finish it, I'll eat whatever is left." I reassured Elizabeth as I cut her breakfast to manageable pieces. She smiled up at me, then using the fork as a trident she jabbed into one of the omelet pieces. Elizabeth happily chowed down on the cheesy goodness, making several happy bell noises while doing so. In the end, Elizabeth only left about a third of the omelet for me to finish, Tide, however, ate the entire berry bowl without any help. Satisfied and covered in berry juices Tide was ready to return into his ball for a nap. Before letting him back I picked him up to wipe the juices off his face with a napkin.

"Mu-u-u-wd." Tide resisted my cleaning efforts to no avail. Now clean and mildly irritated, he returned to his ball which I promptly secured on my belt again. I was about to reach for a napkin when out of nowhere one suddenly found itself pressed onto my face. Elizabeth tried to copy me and clean off the bits of omelet still on my lips.

"Thwank ywou." I tried to tell her as she wiped the napkin around my lips and cheeks. "I could've cleaned myself off, ya know." I gently removed the tiny hands invading my face and gave Elizabeth a smile. She smiled back and handed me the napkin.

"My turn!" Elizabeth playfully demanded, turning her cheek to me. I couldn't help but laugh at the adorable scene before me. I grabbed a fresh napkin and removed the few bits of her breakfast left on her tiny cheeks. I scooped her up and plopped her back down onto our seat as we waited for the bill to arrive. The blonde maid from earlier came to our table soon after.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Charlotte earlier, Master." She said, bowing. "She's new here. You see, Charlotte used to be partners with a Pokemon trainer, however, he abandoned her because she wasn't strong enough." Her voice began taking on a sorrowful tone. "We found her all alone wandering the Petalburg forest aimlessly. We took her in recently and she's doing her best to adjust-. I stopped her before she could continue.

"No need to apologize, Miss." I reassured her. "I thought nothing of it, actually I thought it was rather cute. I hope she can adjust to her new life, so give Charlotte my best wishes." I reassured her. She looked up with tears in her eyes, but with a smile brighter than the sun itself. She scribbled something on the bill before quickly wiping the tears that now started to stream down her face. She bowed and walked away. I looked down at the bill, curious about what she scribbled. Turns out she removed a couple of dollars from the price. I smiled, then I put the original amount's worth on the table before putting my gear back on, Elizabeth included. I was about to exit the café when suddenly I heard a familiar voice and the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching.

"Blaziken!" Charlotte cried with tears in her eyes, pulling me into a bear hug so quickly that Elizabeth nearly fell off my shoulder. Before I could process what just happened she let go, bowed and smiled with tears still flowing. She turned back and hurried away towards the kitchen.

"She said Thank you." Elizabeth translated. "You really are amazing, Eric." She leaned her head into mine. I blushed at her compliment and headed back out into Petalburg city, ready to take on the day.

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**Author's note: I know it's a bit of an abrupt ending, but the story was getting very long. The next chapter will be coming out near the end of March and with a lot of exciting action! That's right! Battle time, baby!**


	10. A wood be threat

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Forests, Souvenir stores or any kind of tourist traps. I do however owe a lot of gratitude to my faithful viewers, like you.**

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Now with a full belly and a flustered heart, I decided to follow Brendan's lead and head towards Rustboro city. Unlike Brendan, who took the fastest route via public transport, I chose to go on foot and do a little sightseeing on the way out. We weren't too far from the Pokemon center, which was located roughly in the middle of Petalburg, so it would only take two to three to get to the Western exit of the city. This part of town was full of stores, cafes and tourist attractions, such as The Pokemon M. Café; an outlet which sold matching outfits for trainers and their Pokemon and a rather small souvenir store which sold autographed pictures of Brendan's dad, Norman. Growing up in the big city made me immune to most of these tourist traps, Elizabeth, however, couldn't help but gasp in excitement every time we passed a flashy outlet or a Pokemon themed souvenir place.

"Eric! Eric! Can we go into one?" Elizabeth pleaded excitedly. Her joy and excitement began to flood into me and take over my body, washing away the immunity against souvenir places that I had built up over the past 16 years.

"Good idea! Sightseeing isn't the same without a souvenir place," I stated, trying my best to hide the excitement bubbling up inside me. "Which one should we check out?" I asked, shifting my gaze from shop to shop. Elizabeth looked around for a second then pointed to a store to our right. I quickly repositioned her arm, as I couldn't enter that store for another two years and not with a girl on my shoulder. In this repositioned state, she was pointing at a little souvenir place full of stuffed Pokemon, mugs and other small things. The owner of the shop was a lady who looked to be in her early 30s. She had shoulder-length brown hair, deep blue eyes and a smile warm enough to melt a Glalie.

"Welcome! How may I help you two?" The shop owner greeted us.

"Oh, we're just looking around," My response sounded more excited than it should have as Elizabeth's joy and excitement was still flowing into me. I quickly averted my gaze to spare myself from any more embarrassment and prevent permanent discoloration to my cheeks from blushing so much. The shop owner laughed it off and went back to managing some items on a shelf next to her.

"Eric! Eric! What's that thing?" Elizabeth was frantically pointing at a straw hat on my right. It was rather plain in design. It's only decorative feature was a slim blue ribbon ending in a pretty bow. Nevertheless, it caught the eye of the little ball of joy squirming on my shoulder.

"That's a hat, it goes on your head," I explained.

"Like the napkin you gave me on our way to town?" She sounded confused by my answer. Rather than trying to explain the difference between a hat and the napkin I gave her to protect her from the heat, I instead suggested that she'd try to read my mind and get the answer. Her psychic abilities have been improving at an astonishing rate ever since the day we met. A couple of days ago she could barely form a sentence let alone talk to me the way she does now.

"You won't mind?" She asked sheepishly. I could feel my heart stop for a second when I saw the innocent gaze she gave me as she lifted up her tiny arms to cup my cheeks before slowly closing her eyes. The incredible sensation of her presence in my mind was all I could focus on. My whole body was tingling as she dwelled into my head looking for an answer. Then it slowly disappeared and she opened her beautiful red eyes to look at me. I was awestruck, I couldn't think, I couldn't speak and I couldn't peel my gaze away from her. This was new, compared to other times where she entered my mind or shared her feelings with me telepathically.

"Can I try it on?" Elizabeth's sweet bell-like voice broke me out of my trance.

"B-uh. Wha-? Y-yeah!" I tried my best to form a reply. She snickered then quickly tried to hide her laugh behind those tiny hands of hers. Elizabeth used her telekinesis to pick up the straw hat and grabbed hold of it when it was in reach, then motioned me towards a mirror just ahead of me. Only then did I realize how much I was blushing. That must've been why she was laughing so much. She gracefully hopped off my shoulder and landed in front of me, still holding onto the hat. It looked a size too big for me, so for Elizabeth, it was loose-fitting, to say the least. She had to hold it up by the brim just to be able to see herself in the mirror. Both the shopkeep and I had a good laugh at the adorable sight.

"What an adorable little Pokemon!" The shopkeep praised Elizabeth. "Is it the only one you have?" She looked at Tide's ball hanging from my belt.

"No, I also have a Mudkip," I noted, holding up Tide's ball. "Would you like to see him?" I offered with a smile. She nodded enthusiastically in response. I plopped his ball on the floor so she could meet him.

"Mud…Kip." Tide croaked in annoyance as I let him out of the ball. He must've still been sulking about the napkin incident from earlier. Nevertheless, the lady was practically drooling over Tide.

"My son also had a Mudkip as a starter Pokemon!" She squealed in excitement and quickly snatched up Tide from the floor. "Does it have a name?" She asked, burying poor Tide in her bosom. He tried to resist the embrace, but after a short struggle, he gave up and just enjoyed the pampering.

"His name is Tide, he's my little buddy," I explained, however, I wasn't sure if she even heard me over the waterfall of affection she was showering Tide with. Elizabeth suddenly started tugging at my pants, trying to get my attention.

"What's up, Elizabeth?" I squatted down to get a better look at her.

"C-could you pick me up like that?" Elizabeth shyly requested while pointing at Tide and the lady. Without hesitation, I scooped her up into my embrace. Sweet bell-like purrs erupted out of her as soon as she was in my arms. I caressed her cheeks and under her chin to which she purred even harder.

"It's good to see trainers and their Pokemon get along so well," The lady stated, sounding very nostalgic. She released Tide from her embrace and set him down in front of her. He sluggishly wobbled towards me. The little guy must've gotten a little exhausted from the earlier cuddle struggle. When he reached me he put his forelimbs up against my leg and looked up at me.

"Mu~ud~," He whined, sounding defeated. I smiled and mercifully withdrew him back into his ball. Once Tide was back on my belt, I put Elizabeth back on my shoulder with only minor resistance as she was rather fond of the pampering, then I bought the hat. It may have been a few sizes too big and a few Poke dollars too expensive, but I just had to see that little darling disappear under that straw hat again.

"Thanks for your purchase and good luck on your travels!" The Shopkeep waved us goodbye with a bittersweet smile. We waved back and continued our journey towards Rustboro city. As we went further and further from the city center, the bustling atmosphere of Petalburg slowly faded and a more rural one took its place. Soon we found ourselves back in the wilderness, with a few travel signs being our only reminder of the busy city.

"Do you miss the city?" Elizabeth asked with concern in her voice. "I feel your heartache a little, should we go back?" She continued. Elizabeth was right, being in Petalburg reminded me of the city I grew up in and the friends I made there. It made me homesick.

"No, no it's fine, I'm just a little homesick," I replied in a reassuring tone, trying to hide the slight feeling of sorrow that started to course in my heart. But trying to hide emotions from the Feeling Pokemon is as pointless as it sounds. I sighed in defeat once realizing this. "Do you ever miss the place you grew up in?" I turned my gaze to her.

"Where I grew up?" Elizabeth sounded confused. "I grew up in..." She paused then quickly dug through my mind, looking for a word. The sudden sensation of which made my heart jump a little. "The forest," She continued. "It's all around us. It's a little different than the part I lived earlier in, but it's still the forest." Elizabeth said nonchalantly. I should've expected an answer like that. Afterall Pokemon and humans live different lives.

"Wasn't there anything in the forest that you were attached to? Something you want to see every day?" I pressed on, despite having a pretty clear idea about her answer. She put her tiny arm against my cheek and stared at me with those darling red eyes.

"You," She whispered lovingly. Upon uttering those words the once warm feeling that used to wash over me became a burning, all-consuming feeling that enveloped every part of my body. It felt as if the whole world stopped at that moment and nothing else mattered but having this little frail fairy with me. I couldn't help but tear up. I could no longer feel my heartache for the past. I could only feel the burning desire to be at this very moment.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," I managed to say after wiping my tears. She gently pressed her head against mine, her horn poked into me, but I ignored it. At this moment nothing else mattered but having her here with me.

"I'll stay with you, so you won't ever miss me," Elizabeth purred, burying her face even deeper into mine. "Sorry, I poked you," She apologized and moved her head away from me. I laughed it off and pet her head, letting her know there was nothing to apologize for. We continued down Route 104, along the way Elizabeth asked me to tell her about what it was like growing up in the city and what I missed the most. She eagerly listened to my story and showed genuine interest, often asking me to explain certain things, like parks and games. When I asked her why she didn't just look for the information in my mind, she simply replied:

"I like hearing you talk so fondly about these things," Her words made my heart skip yet another beat. I was so caught up in talking to Elizabeth, that I didn't even realize we reached the Petalburg Woods. An uneasy feeling began to make its way around my body as I remembered how I met Elizabeth and those Zigzagoons, however, I was quickly snapped out of it as the familiar tiny hand of my shoulder fairy gently brushed against my face. I didn't need telepathy to know what she was thinking. I gave her a confident smile and without a second thought, I marched straight into the thick of it. The light of the afternoon sun painted the forest in an eerie glow as it weakly pierced through the dense foliage. The distant chirping of Taillow high up in the trees, muffled chatter of Seedot nearby and a constant rustling of bushes close behind us began to slowly eat away at my confidence. Elizabeth tried her best to look calm and happy, often snuggling into me when I was about to panic, but I could tell she was getting on edge. With every step I took further into the woods I felt another pair of eyes sizing me up. The wild Pokemon of the Petalburg woods were anxious about these new intruders to their territory, it was only a matter of time until one of them decided to confront them head-on.

"Duck!" Elizabeth shouted. Her words boomed and echoed in my mind. In one fell swoop, I snatched her into my arms and dove to the ground just in time. A small black object blitzed from the treetops directly towards us. Thanks to Elizabeth's warning I managed to save both of us from impact.

"Actually, I think that's a Taillow," I groaned. The small black object circled back around between the trees and then stopped mid-air. "Yeah, a wild Tallow has appeared," I joked as I got up, still clutching Elizabeth close to my chest. My heart was racing. I could feel the eyes of all the wild Pokemon around us watching us more intently than ever. This is how they were going to size us up.

"He will not back down, he is determined to fight us," Elizabeth stated with concern.

"He's got guts," I added. I put down Elizabeth in front of me, I could feel her worry and my start to mix together. I pat her head and tried to muster up every ounce of courage and confidence I could. Her expression began to change and I saw those big red eyes light up with determination a will to fight. Elizabeth proudly walked towards the wild Taillow, it kept sizing her up with every step she took. She stopped in her track and faced the tiny swallow Pokemon.

"We fight together," Elizabeth's words were filled with confidence. She trusted me and I believed in her. I could feel her presence in my mind stronger than ever, she was waiting for my command. All it took was thought and Elizabeth launched a confusion attack. A strange blue light enveloped the Taillow, the attack connected! Elizabeth slammed the little bird into the ground with a tremendous force. However, it wasn't enough to knock it out. It got up, shook its head then shifted its gaze on her. With incredible speed, the Taillow launched an attack and flew straight at Elizabeth. Its speed was so fast that she couldn't react on time, but I could. I warned her to teleport a few feet into the air and thanks to the psychic link she did. She looked a little surprised when she found herself 3 feet above the now confused Taillow. It was desperately trying to locate its target. The psychic link Elizabeth opened for us connected us on a conscious and subconscious level allowing a command or warning to be understood far quicker and thus acted on a lot faster too. With this technique, Elizabeth not only stood a chance against faster opponents but had an edge!

"Finish it off with another confusion attack!" I called out to Elizabeth telepathically. She grabbed hold of the wild Taillow once again and slammed it into the ground. She elegantly floated back down and landed gently on the floor next to the Taillow. She nudged it a bit to which the Taillow let out a tired moan.

"Tail….low," It sounded completely out of breath and energy. All the anxious eyes that were watching us slowly faded back into the woods along with any feeling of fear that I had coursing within me, leaving me with only pride in my little Pokemon. Elizabeth, the little Ralts.

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**Author's note XL: Wow, this took a lot longer then I had planned. I apologize for the long pause between chapters, but this past month has been a little complicated. You may find a few stylistic changes in this chapter as I have been sitting over it and writing/re-writing many parts of it since March 20th. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it and hope to make you, dear readers happy with my content. Look forward to the upcoming chapter sometime next month... Yeah, I gave up on the two chapters a month idea, It's way too hard.**

**Leave a review on this chapter if you want to as feedback is always appreciated (negative too) as it helps me get better at writing so I can bring even better content for you all!**


	11. A troublesome evening

**Disclaimer! I do not own Pokemon or Nintendo or Gamefreak or whoever made the anime series. This is a nonprofit fanfiction series.**

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"You did it Elizabeth!" I cheered and ran to pick up my little Ralts. "You did great, I'm really proud of you!" I praised my little lady and spun around until motion sickness got the better of me.

"Tail…low…" The tiny bird tried to get up but after the battle with Elizabeth, it didn't even have the strength to stand up. I put down Elizabeth and pat her head in praise before quickly taking off my backpack. I unfastened my sleeping bag and rummaged through my pack, looking for my first aid kit.

"I should keep this thing above my spare clothes, I'd hate to waste time looking for this thing if something serious happened to one of you guys," I mumbled to myself as I picked it up the kit. "Only 2 potions left, huh? Should've bought some extra on our way out of Petalburg." I sighed, then sprayed the contents of the bottle onto the tiny bird laying in front of me. While the potion was taking effect I opened my Pokedex and got a better look at the Taillow.

"Taillow! The tiny swallow Pokemon. Taillow courageously stands its ground against foes, however strong they may be." The Pokedex stated. After scanning the Taillow, some additional data showed up detailing its attributes.

"Looks like another little guy is joining our group, Elizabeth." I reached back into my backpack to pull out a Pokeball. When I turned back towards the little bird he was already back on his feet. The Taillow was staring at me with an indifferent expression. Despite the thrashing that Elizabeth dished out, he didn't look one bit defeated. Instead, he just averted his gaze when I turned back to him in an arrogant fashion. I looked at Elizabeth questioningly as I was taken back by Taillow's reaction.

"He doesn't care about being defeated or captured," Elizabeth shrugged. The Taillow opened an eye then flapped a wing at me, insisting I hurry up. I chuckled and pointed the Pokeball at him.

"From now on, you're a part of my team Taillow. And your name will be Blitz!" Hearing my words the Taillow seemed to smirk a little before he was drawn into the Pokeball. The ball shook a little then stopped, signifying his capture.

"New Pokemon registered!" The Pokedex stated and nearly made me lose my footing since I forgot that it was still in my hand. Elizabeth giggled, but quickly hid her glee behind her tiny hands and looked away when I snapped my head towards her.

"Laugh it off, little lady," I sassed while putting the first aid kit back into my pack. I threw it onto my back before kneeling back down to pick up Elizabeth. "We've got a few hours of daylight left, so let's walk the trail for a while before setting up camp," I suggested. Elizabeth nodded in agreement and we went further down the trail and deeper into the Petalburg Woods. After a good two hours of walking and a few snack brakes at some berry bushes, we started looking for a place to set up the tent as the afternoon sun began its descent into dusk. The forest was painted a magnificent deep orange by the setting sun as the evening approached. The Petalburg woods was home to many natural clearings, creaks, and small springs which broke the suffocating feeling of the thick shrubbery and foliage. While the Dexnav wasn't useful for navigating in the city, it had a very accurate map of the forest, which I used to find one of the more popular springs of the Petalburg Woods. It was loved both by tourists and the Pokemon that lived in the area. Couples often came here from the city for a lovely picnic while the local Pokemon used it to cool off on warm summer days.

"This should be a good spot for the night," I proclaimed, putting down my bag with a heavy thud. Elizabeth stretched her arms and legs after the long walk. Riding on my shoulder for most of the way must've made her legs and butt rather numb. "Oh! I should introduce Tide to Blitz!" I realized that after capturing the newest member of our party I haven't let out either of them. I unclipped the two Pokeballs from my belt and let the two boys out to stretch their limbs.

"Muwd~kip," Tide yawned mid-stretch. "Kip?" Tide looked at the tiny bird next to him. He looked surprised and even took a step back, anticipating a battle.

"Ralts," Elizabeth explained. Tide nodded and smiled at our new companion. He held out his paw towards Blitz, much like how Elizabeth greeted Tide when they first met. Blitz looked at Tide's held out paw questioningly. Elizabeth looked at him with her arms crossed.

"Tail…" Blitz stretched out a wing to reciprocate the gesture, yet he still snapped his gaze away from Tide, much like he did with me. Blitz then quickly flew up onto a low hanging tree branch and pecked at his feathers.

"Well, that's one less helping hand." I shifted my gaze towards my other two companions who were happily chatting away, most likely talking about the fight that Elizabeth had with that scrappy little bird. "Make that three," I smirked and started setting up the tent. Now that both my arms were perfectly functional I got the job done a lot quicker than last time. I set my bag next to the tent and started looking for some firewood. The summer heat provided plenty of dry branches for the campfire and I even found a perfect sized log to sit on. With Tide's help, I gathered a few rocks from the spring to surround the campfire. Elizabeth wanted to help me roll the log I found to our campsite, but those tiny hands were made for caressing and not for pushing objects three times your size. To my surprise, Blitz dropped a few dry leafs onto the pile to use as tinder. Of course, he quickly turned his head and flew back onto the branch when he saw us.

"He enjoys our company." Elizabeth's voice chimed in my head. "But he's too proud to admit it." She was rather amused by Blitz' nature and so was I. Once the fire was set I sat down the two bowls I brought with me and sacrificed my plate so Blitz wouldn't have to eat off the ground, I poured each of them their dinner from the big bag of Pokefood I previously bought. They happily chowed down, even Blitz let down his guard and looked as if he enjoyed his meal a lot. Elizabeth dragged her bowl towards me and after a bit of struggling placed the bowl and herself onto the log and sat down next to me while I ate my porridge out of the pan that I made it in. I pat her head to commemorate her efforts and watched as the sun slowly disappeared behind the trees.

"Alright you three, clean yourselves off in the spring, and then it's off to bed. We've got a lot of walking to do tomorrow," I stated, picking up the dishes and heading towards the spring myself. Blitz started to warm up to Elizabeth and Tide and even splashed around with them in the water for a bit before he pulled his usual move.

"I know that you'll want to sleep next to me Elizabeth, but how about you two?" I turned towards the little guys as I fished out my pajamas from my bag.

"Mud," Tide stated.

"Taillow," Blitz squawked, shifting his gaze away from me. I looked at Elizabeth with pleading eyes as I didn't understand their intentions.

"Tide wants to sleep in the ball and Blitz doesn't care." Elizabeth shrugged. I withdrew both of them back into their Pokeballs for the nigh and carefully placed them next to my sleeping bag, then less than gracefully backed out of the tent and headed back towards the water to change.

"No peeking, Elizabeth!" I jokingly shouted as I started taking off my clothes. I heard Elizabeth yelp in embarrassment and the rustling of the tent flaps being pushed apart in a hurry. I made sure to at least try to wash the sweat out of my clothes before heading back to the tent as both my shirt and pants were soaked after hours of walking in the summer heat. I hung them up to dry on some branches, hoping they would dry by tomorrow.

"I'm coming in~" I yawned to Elizabeth and tossed in my backpack. She was already curled up at the top of the sleeping back, still half awake. She wanted to wait for me to come back before she fell asleep. I scooched the pack to the corner of the tent so I wouldn't kick it and wake up in the middle of the night.

"Hurry up," She ushered. I obliged and slipped into my sleeping bag before welcoming the tired little pokemon into my embrace. "Goo' nigh'" Elizabeth's voice sounded distant and echoed. She must've been really tired. I followed suit and after a mighty yawn I drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up!" A voice rang out in my mind. "Wake up!" The words were muffled, but it started to become clearer and louder. "WAKE UP, ERIC!" I jolted up to the command to find Elizabeth standing up in my lap and intensely staring at the opening of the tent.

"Elizabeth?" I mumbled, still half asleep. "What's wro-"I stopped mid-sentence when I heard rustling from outside. By now our campfire had snuffed out into weak embers that couldn't even cast a shadow. My heart started to pound as paranoia set in. Elizabeth picked up on my fear and quickly turned around to face me. She brushed her hair aside and smiled at me, reassuring that there was nothing to be afraid of. A gentle warmth radiated from her which slowly began to creep itself onto me and into my heart. My heart stopped pounding and I looked around my tent, looking for Tide's and Blitz' balls. They got rolled into the corner of my tent. I went to reach for them but the snap of a branch made my yank my hand back. The sound came from right in front of the tent's opening.

"I can only sense one presence." Her voice sounded serious, yet calm. The victory against Blitz must've boosted her confidence a little.

"She's so cool," I thought to myself while sizing up my little guardian. Elizabeth started to fidget and slowly turned around. She was completely pink.

"R-really?" Her confident tone was replaced by an embarrassed and sweet one. All that boosted confidence gone in a second.

"Shroo!" We both snapped our attention to the front of the tent. "Mish?" We heard it again. Elizabeth suddenly hopped out of my lap and walked towards the noise. She grabbed the zipper with both of her tiny hands and slowly started to pull it up. I'm sure she wanted to pull it up faster, but Ralts aren't known for their physical strength. A sudden gust of wind blew open the flaps of the tent, knocking Elizabeth on her butt.

"Why did you open the flap?!" I demanded while I dove for Elizabeth and pulled her close to my chest ready to fend off whatever was about to enter our tent.

"It's okay, he just wants some help," Elizabeth calmly explained. Tiny green feet stepped in through the opening to reveal a small round Pokemon.

"Shroomish!" It sounded concerned. "Shroomish-shroo!" It pleaded. Elizabeth hopped out from my embrace and hurried over to the little Shroomish.

"Ralts. Ra-ra?" Elizabeth asked the anxious-looking mushroom Pokemon. The Shroomish calmed down a little. It must've been affected by Elizabeth's emotion altering abilities.

"Shroomish-mish!" It exclaimed and stepped out of the tent, turning anxiously back and forth between us and the outside. It wanted us to follow it.

"What's it saying Elizabeth?" A bit of worry started to creep into my voice.

"Someone is in trouble." She stated and stepped outside to join the anxious-looking Shroomish. She tried to calm it down and pat its head, but it wasn't very effective. I got up and reached for Tide's and Blitz's balls. I decided it was better to bring those two along in case we needed some backup. I stepped outside and flinched as the cold grass licked the sole of my feet.

"I'll put my shoes on, then we can go." I reached back into my tent and quickly slipped on my sneakers. It was a weird feeling to wear shoes without socks, but I didn't want to waste any more time. The little Shroomish was already pacing back and forth and kept glancing at me, ushering me to hurry up.

"Lead the way, Shroomish!" I barely finished my sentence and those tiny green feet bolted into the woods. I scooped up Elizabeth and gave chase. The thick foliage of the woods blocked what little light the moon gave us, leaving only darkness behind. All I could rely on was the sound of Shroomish's feet pitter-pattering on the forest floor and Elizabeth's guidance. She locked onto its psychic aura, with this technique Elizabeth could clearly see the Shroomish as it ran through the darkness.

"So, how does this psychic aura thing work?" I looked down at Elizabeth only to run headfirst into a branch.

"Ouch! Stupid trees!" I yelped in pain.

"Are you okay?" Elizabeth clutched onto me out of concern. I could feel her trying to pull herself up my shirt to get up to my face. I moved my hand away from my aching face to fasten her to my chest. Running at this speed would result in a nasty fall unless she stayed put.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured her as I swallowed a pained yelp. "Just stay close and don't lose track of that Shroomish," I ordered. She obliged and clung onto my shirt with one hand while she put the other on her horn, so she could focus better.

"Shroomish-Shroo!" It stopped dead in its tracks and turned around calling to us. I slowed down and walked up to it. We've reached a small clearing and could finally see ahead of us again. The dim moonlight revealed a huge hole in the ground not three feet from us. The little Shroomish was anxiously pacing around the edge of it. I put down Elizabeth and stepped closer to get a better look at the hole. It was full of Shroomish! The Shroomish that lead us there got the attention of the trapped ones. They jumped up and down when they saw me. The hole was around ten feet deep, no wonder that Shroomish was so panicked. These pokemon don't have arms and their feet while good at running, are not designed for jumping.

"I've got an idea," I said, turning to Elizabeth. "I'll jump into the hole, pick up the Shroomish, and then you four will pull them up to the surface," I explained.

"Four?" Elizabeth cocked her head to the side in confusion, I smirked and pulled out the two Pokeballs I snagged from the tent before we ran here. I tossed both of them onto the ground and started climbing down into the hole. I heard Tide's tired and confused yelps and Blitz's annoyed squawks,

"Elizabeth, give them the short version," I insisted. I landed with a soft thud and immediately started picking up Shroomish. I wanted to get back to bed as soon as possible and get this weird mini-adventure behind me. With my four little helpers effortlessly pulling up each Shroomish, it only took us a minute or two to get all seven of them out.

"Was that the last one?" Elizabeth looked over the edge along with Blitz and Tide. They all looked a little exhausted by now. Shroomish are light, but pulling up seven of them in quick succession left my little guys a bit out of breath.

"That's the last one!" I shouted up to them. "But…how do I get out" I looked around concerned, trying to find anything that could help me get out. I could reach the edge if I jumped, but I lacked the arm strength to pull myself up to the surface. Elizabeth's psychic powers were beyond amazing, but I wasn't sure if she could pick me up in this tired state. However, it was all I could think of at the time.

"I read your mind, Eric." She got up and took a deep breath. "I'll try my best!" Elizabeth claimed with determination and raised her arms to the sky. A brilliant pink aura surged from her tiny body, pushing dust, pebbles, and even Tide aside. The same energy started swirling around me, slowly creeping up from my feet up to my head. I couldn't move a muscle, yet I felt as light as a feather and began to float upwards. I made it about 5 feet into the air before I heard Elizabeth start to cough and struggle. I felt her psychic grip loosening up.

"Stop!" I shouted in my head. "You'll get yourself hurt! Let me go!" I ordered her.

"N-o! I wi-ll he-e-elp yo-u!" Her voice sounded distant and distorted as she put all her energy into telekinesis. My ascent halted and I started floating down. "No-oO-o!" She sounded so defeated, it pained me to see her like this. Before I could order her to stop I felt as though something was pulling on my shirt and turned my head to see what it was.

"Tai-llow!" Blitz squawked. He grabbed onto my shirt collar and lifted me up to lessen the toll on Elizabeth. When he noticed I was looking at him, instead of turning his head he just nodded silently and pulled harder. When they finally managed to pull me to the surface, they both collapsed on the ground.

"Ral…tss," Elizabeth whimpered. I could no longer feel her presence in my mind. She used up every last bit of her psychic power to get me out of there. Blitz was panting and exhausted, but he seemed to be okay. I withdrew him back into his ball so he could rest up. I regretted not bringing Elizabeth's Pokeball, but I had no time to worry about that. I picked up my tired little hero from the ground and held her close. She was still conscious, but very exhausted.

"Let's go Tide, we've got to get back to camp and let these two rest up!" I declared and we ran back into the woods towards our camp.

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**Author's note: Sorry for another cliffhanger, the chapter was getting a bit too long. Also, I love cliffhangers. What was that new pink aura? Could it be the sign that Elizabeth is ready to evolve into a Kirlia? Could that be the start of their relationship's evolution? Find out in the upcoming chapters of Eric and Elizabeth the Gardevoir.**


	12. Fever dream

**I do not own Pokemon or the company that owns that. This is a non-profit fanfiction that may or may not become a profit animated series or webcomic in the future. **

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The snapping of branches rang out for miles as I ran through that dark empty forest, tightly holding onto my little Pokemon, fearing she would disappear if I loosened my grasp. By now my eyes had finally adjusted to the pitch black of the Petalburg Woods. The sound of four tiny feet hastily pitter-pattering accompanied my every step as Tide surprisingly kept pace with me. After mere minutes we cleared the tree line and laid eyes upon our clearing, painted in a pale blue hue by the dim moonlight. My heart began to ache as Elizabeth's figure was illuminated in my arms. Her breathing was heavy and both her tiny hands were on her chest, clasping each other tightly. I brushed her hair aside and gently cupped the side of her face. She slowly opened her eyes at my touch and weakly nuzzled into my palm, then she looked up at me with those serene eyes and showed a soft smile. Even in her current condition, she refused to make me worry and tried her best to tough it out.

"I already know you're strong, you don't have to act tough," I reassured her in a hushed tone. I quickly made my way back to the tent, with Tide following closely behind and shooting concerned glances in my direction. I gently set her down on my sleeping bag and used my Pokedex as a light source to get a better look at her. She was sweating profusely and took slow, heavy breaths. She showed no signs of physical injury, but even something as simple as sitting up was a strain on her body. I tried to comfort her by brushing her hair and petting her head and that's when I realized that she was burning up.

"You've got a fever, Elizabeth!" I exclaimed, worried for my little lady's health. I dug through my backpack and pulled out my first aid kit along with a clean pair of socks. My kit was nothing special to write home about, only having basic items such as band-aids, some bandages, a half-empty bottle of disinfectant along with a pack of pain killers, and of course my last potion. Unfortunately, potions can't heal ailments, only physical injuries such as scratches and cuts, however, that was not what I was looking for. I pulled out a small container with white pills in it.

"This is the medicine we use when we humans have a fever," I looked back towards Elizabeth. "According to the Pokedex, your evolutionary line is in the Human-like egg group, so maybe it will work for you as well," I wanted to comfort her, but I could feel worried and uncertainty building up inside me. I gave her some water before breaking off a small piece of the pill and instructed her to try and swallow it. Elizabeth softly nodded and with one big gulp she took the medicine, then gave me a weak but reassuring smile. I pat her head and let her lay back down to rest. Tide had been sitting next to her all this time, it warmed my heart to see him so vigilantly looking out for his friend. I scratched his chin in appreciation, then grabbed my now half-empty water bottle along with the sock that I pulled out earlier and left the tent. I walked down to the little creek and filled up my bottle before drenching my sock in the cold spring water. I wrung it out a couple of times and went back inside. I saw Tide bite onto the cover of the sleeping bag and slowly walking backward towards Elizabeth, with the fabric clamped firmly in his mouth. After a couple of tugs and a lot of effort he finally managed to get the cover over Elizabeth. Since I placed Elizabeth near the top of the bag, when Tide pull the covers over her, she didn't get smothered under it but instead got a comfy blanket.

"Mud!" He proudly proclaimed and sat down next to his friend. Elizabeth reached up and weakly pat him on the head, appreciating the gesture. Tide shot me a confused look when he saw me standing in the entrance, wondering why I came back with a wet sock.

"I know it's not the most elegant solution, but we have to get her temperature down," I explained, sitting down next to my sick little Pokemon. Her breathing started to become regular and she was looking a little bit better already. I brushed her hair back and applied the makeshift cold pack to her forehead. She cringed at the cold, wet sensation and looked up at me questioningly. I smiled and readjusted the sock to cover more of her forehead, her horn was getting in the way a little, but I was able to apply it well enough. Elizabeth's expression was more confused than questioning now. She weakly grabbed my hand to get my attention and she stared directly into my eyes.

"What's wrong, Elizabeth? Is it too cold?" I reached for the sock, but she stopped my hand in its tracks. She let go of my hand then sat up slowly, using both her arms to push herself up from the sleeping bag. Elizabeth gave me a serious look, when I didn't respond her expression became more serious and she raised her hand to her horn.

"RAAAA!" She cried out in pain as pink sparks flew out of her horn on contact with her hand. She fell back onto the sleeping bag holding the sides of her head, clearly in pain. Tide jumped up and tried to console the now curled up little Pokemon. Without hesitation, I pulled Elizabeth into my embrace and tried to comfort her. She was clutching into my shirt and letting out pained sobs as she buried her face in my chest. It broke my heart to hear her delicate bell-like voice in such a painful tone. I sat there, holding her for what seemed like forever, trying to ease her pain as much as I could. Tide curled up next to us, making sure to keep an eye on his sick little buddy. She eventually stopped sobbing and let go of my shirt, but her head was still practically glued to my chest. I brushed her hair aside and saw that her eyes were now shut, not because of pain, but because she fell asleep there in my arms. Her soft breaths and peaceful expression put me at ease and I finally felt calm after being so worried about her wellbeing. I checked her forehead and thankfully her fever went down a little. I put her back down on the sleeping bag and scooped up my helpful little buddy. He was half asleep and was struggling to stay awake.

"It's alright, Tide," I pat his head. "I'll take care of her, so you go ahead and sleep," I whispered, making sure to not wake up Elizabeth. He nodded and groggily wobbled towards his ball. The little guy reached out a paw and pressed the button on the Pokeball, withdrawing himself with a dim red light. I felt my exhaustion catching up to me, but I still wanted to do something before going to sleep. While Elizabeth's fever went down a little, it was still present. I decided I would re-cool my makeshift cold pack and let it cool her off while she slept. I picked up the sock and walked back to the creek and dipped the sock in the cold water. Once I wrung it out I headed back towards my little Elizabeth. I zipped up the tent behind me and I quietly laid down next to her. I managed to put the 'cold pack' on her head without waking her up, but I did hear her mumble something when the sock made contact. I held back my laughter, only letting out a short snicker before laying on my back and fell asleep staring into nothingness.

"Ralts!? Ra-Ralts!?" Elizabeth's echoing voice awoke me to a world of black and white. I looked around trying to find her, but not only was she absent, so was the clearing we set up our camp in. I was laying on a small blanket of moss and leaves, surrounded by thick knee-high bushes in every direction. I sat up and tried to wrap my head around the situation I was in, but before I could really process anything, another cry from Elizabeth rang out from in front of me.

"Ra-a-alts?!" Her voice was shaky as if she was about to cry, compelling me to stand up and stumble through the shrubbery in haste to console her. Elizabeth was anxiously pacing up and down a few feet ahead of me, still calling out to someone as if she didn't hear me crash through the bushes.

"It's okay, I'm here! I'm he- " My sentence got caught in my throat as I tried to pick her up and comfort her, but my hands phased right through her tiny body. Not even acknowledging me, she continued to cry out into the forest, desperately hoping for an answer. The world started to fade and the last thing I saw before darkness enveloped me was Elizabeth, sitting down with her face buried in her tiny hands, trying to hide her soft whimpers. I fell from the empty void that swallowed the grey forest into clearing covered in snow. It was different from the previous one as it had no shrubbery, only a few evergreens and a large rock formation that sat near the edge of it. I strode across the white blanket that covered the forest, towards the curious-looking rock formation. As I got closer I realized that it was not natural. It was actually a bunch of rocks stacked on and around each other forming a makeshift igloo. When I peered inside my heart stopped. Elizabeth was curled up in the far corner of the stone den, clutching onto a blanket of moss and shivering so much I could hear her teeth chatter.

"Elizabeth, hey I'm here, let me warm you up!" I offered as I reached into the den only to once again phase right through her. The world once again began to fade and I finally realized what was going on. These were her memories, she must be having an awful fever dream that was making her relive these awful experiences. Elizabeth must've ended up unconsciously dragging me into her dreams as a defense mechanism of sorts. The empty void once again started to dissipate as another memory surfaced, however this one I recognized. The memory was of the forest near Oldale town. I turned around and saw my former self cautiously walking forward, towards me. I heard a familiar bell-like cry coming from the bushes ahead of me.

"This is where I met, Elizabeth…" I thought to myself. I watched as a small white Pokemon emerged from the bushes and locked eyes with my past self. The three Zigzagoons followed suit and charged right at her, but fell short as memory me picked her up to protect her. At that moment the world around me started to change. The world of grey turned into a world of color as beams of golden light penetrated the foliage of the woods and painted everything in beautiful colors. Suddenly the golden light that painted this memory began to swallow the world around me and enveloped me with the same indescribable emotion that I felt when Elizabeth uttered those words.

"You," Elizabeth's sweet, loving voice chimed in my head. I turned around and there she was, floating only a couple of feet away from me.

"Elizabeth?" I asked, unsure whether if she was just another memory of herself or the real deal. She nodded happily and shined a smile warm enough to set the world ablaze.

"You were the one who rescued me that day and brought light back into my life," She continued as images of our time together flashed before my eyes. "That warmth you're feeling is the same one I have been feeling ever since we met, Eric." She floated closer as she said.

"Just like you, I didn't know what this emotion was for a while, but now I do," Elizabeth was now in arms reach from me. "But now I do and I am ready to accept it and step forward into the light that you gave me, Eric." Her words filled my heart with more joy than I ever felt in my life. She embraced me, sending waves of warmth and joy throughout every cell in my body. Suddenly Elizabeth was enveloped in a brilliant pink light and started to grow and change right in front of my eyes. Her body was now of pure light given shape. She raised her head to me and moved ever so closer to me, the once warm welcoming emotion turned to a burning loving one as her face was mere inches from mine. I closed my eyes and let the burning, all-consuming love and joy, that radiated from Elizabeth take over my body.

"What a beautiful~ day!" Upon hearing her words my eyes shot open. I was back in my tent, back in the real world. I looked around, but Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. I rubbed my eyes and looked towards the tent's open entrance. A cool summer breeze blew through it carrying warmth and the light of the morning sun with it.

"Hey, Eric! You're missing out on the view!" Elizabeth ushered me to join her out in the sun. I slowly crawled out of the tent, still groggy and a little dazed. I covered my eyes as I was blinded by the morning sun eagerly welcoming me into the world.

"Haha! There you are, sleepyhead!" Elizabeth's giggles came from my left and surprisingly it sounded like she was above me. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my eyes adjusted to the light, then turned towards her voice with a smile.

"He-… ELIZABETH?"

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**This chapter marks the end of the first arc of Eric and Elizabeth the Gardevoir! (I'll still post chapters monthly, don't worry. I just wanted to make it clear) Also, feel free to check out the davidtoons_ Instagram account for official art and bonus content such as "Eric's Insight" and "Elizabeth and her many outfits".**


	13. The start of a new day

**I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo, or Gamefreak. This is a nonprofit fanfiction series...for now.**

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"ELIZABETH!?" I exclaimed in awe of the sight before me. At first glance, I thought the figure in front of me was a young girl wearing a tutu and a headband with decorative horns. I was expecting Elizabeth to pop out from behind the girl and introduce me, but then the girl spoke.

"Who else would I be, silly?" She hid her amused giggles behind her hands before reaching out to help me up. "Are you gonna sit there all day or what?" Every word she spoke oozed with an infectious joy that quickly began to invade my body, making my heartbeat like some hyperactive Spoink. I grabbed hold of her tiny hand and stood up, my mouth still agape. Overcome with both confusion and tremendous excitement I was unable to form a proper sentence, much to Elizabeth's amusement.

"Wha-huh-hmm." I blurted out, still unable to figure out how to react to what was right before me. Elizabeth burst out laughing at my reaction, with one hand on her belly and one on her forehead she lifted off the ground and kept laughing as she floated, kicking at the air in amusement. Her tremendous joy hit my heart like a tidal wave and I couldn't help but join in and laugh with her. After holding my sides and rolling on the ground for a bit I again stood up and wiped a happy tear from my eye.

"You evolved?!" I asked excitedly, looking down and closely observing her new figure. She was a lot taller now, more than twice her original height. Even more so if you count her two horns, which sprouted from the sides of her head instead of growing from the middle like when she was a Ralts. Those brilliant red eyes, full of joy and love were no longer kept hidden behind her hair. The long white dress she wore in her previous form was replaced by a white, sleeveless top with an open back that ended in a tutu like skirt. Unlike when she was a Ralts, this evolution provided something to wear under her dress in the form of what looked like leggings in the same color as her lush pale green hair. I was so busy ogling her new physique that I didn't notice Elizabeth's lips curl into a mischievous smile. Suddenly, but elegantly she twirled, showing me all of her new features.

"Do you like it~?" She teased excitedly. Her question caught me off guard and colored me a few shades pinker. The only response I could provide at that moment was a series of quick nods. "You're cute," She snickered, clearly enjoying how flustered she could make me. I cleared my throat and tried to regain any piece of my composure left and gave her a nonchalant expression.

"You look good, Elizabeth," I stated, trying to sound cool and not like a lovesick puppy in order to conceal the sheer wonder and amazement I felt about her evolution. With that same smirk she twirled with, Elizabeth effortlessly floated up to me and started gently stroking my cheek.

"You know I can read your mind, right?" She stated matter of factly. She stared into my eyes with an enticing, hypnotic gaze as her hand slowly moved from my cheek and she dug her fingers into my hair. A new feeling invaded my body that made me tingle from head to toe as this familiar, burning emotion seeped itself into every part of my body.

"The dream," I blurted out, upon realizing why this incredible sensation felt so familiar.

"What?" Elizabeth looked at me confused. She stopped playing with my hair, moving her hands to my shoulder and anchoring herself onto me. She then playfully cocked her head to the side and gave me an expectant look.

"The dream I had, or rather the dream we shared!" The excitement I had previously tried to conceal now came bursting out like a Camerupt. I grabbed hold of the floating girl in front of me with this rush of joy and excitement that took over my body, spilling out with every word I spoke.

"You turned pink and then grew and this sensation that I just felt was in the dream too! That was your evolution!" I frantically exclaimed, unable to control my excitement. Elizabeth chuckled and gave an expression that one gives to a Poochyena pup that got stuck in the doggy door.

"Is that all you can remember or are you just too excited to describe your dreams?" She laughed with a bit of defeat in her voice. The clueless expression on my face made her shake her head and snicker a little. "Yes, I evolved in my sleep and while our minds were linked, I realized…certain things, and that lead to my evolution," She lectured in a slightly sarcastic tone. My eyes lit up in awe and I felt like a kid in Trainer school who just saw his first Pokemon, and Elizabeth could tell. She smiled softly, then playfully flailed her legs, signaling to be put down. I gently put her down then ruffled her hair, thoroughly enjoying the new height dynamic between us. She stuck her tongue out in protest of her treatment, causing us both to laugh.

"Oh! I've got an idea!" I enthusiastically proclaimed.

"I read your mind and I'm in!" Elizabeth cut me off before I could even tell her my plan. I was both shocked and thrilled by her psychic powers and she definitely felt it. A cheeky grin quickly appeared on her face as I ushered her into the tent and had her fetch me Tide and Blitz' Pokeballs, just as planned. Once they were in my hands she quickly slipped back into the tent and out of sight.

"Tide, Blitz! Wake up you two, it's morning!" I called out, throwing both balls at my feet. The two Pokemon emerged looking groggy and tired. They lazily scoured their surroundings until they laid their eyes upon me. Tide slowly walked up to my feet to greet me with a gentle headbutt, while Blitz just gave a subtle nod in my direction. My little buddy shifted his gaze towards the tent and after a brief pause, he jolted up and turned to me with a worried look. I knelt down to pat his head while trying to hold back my laughter as much as I could and ended up puckering my lips to stop myself. However, my puckered, twisted frown only seemed to worry him all the more.

"She's fine, buddy. See for yourself!" I turned his head away from me and in the direction of the tent. "Oh, Elizabeth~" I called out to her. Right on cue, Elizabeth burst out of the tent like a professional diva. Tide and Blitz were speechless, while Elizabeth and I shared a snicker that turned into an uproarious laughter seeing how stunned they were. Tide hesitantly approached Elizabeth, unsure of what he was staring at.

"Kirlia?" She asked with a reassuring gaze then knelt down to pat him on the head. His eyes lit up and he started hopping circles around his now tall buddy.

"Kip! Kip! Kip! Tide chanted, now practically a blue blur at Elizabeth's feet. I noticed that Blitz was still just standing there speechless and in awe of the scene before him. When he saw that Elizabeth and I were staring at him with a smug grin on our faces, his demeanor quickly changed back into its natural state.

"Taillow Tail," Blitz squawked, waving a wing at her to congratulate her evolution, his gaze averted and his tone less than amused. Elizabeth's grin became even wider and she took a few steps forward in his direction and bent over with her hands at her hips, ready to lecture anyone in her path.

"Lia~" She sassed. Blitz froze at her response and began to quickly dart his gaze around.

"T-Taillow-low." He waved his wing in a dismissing fashion as if to save himself from the embarrassment. Elizabeth just leaned closer and gave a smug look to which Blitz just became even more flustered. He quickly pointed towards the creek with his wing, causing all of us to look there. Taking it as a chance to escape the awkward situation, he quickly flew up to a low hanging branch a couple of feet away. We all shared a good laugh at this, except for Blitz who was now sulking on the tree branch. Elizabeth brushed hair to the side and looked at me lovingly. That tingling, warm sensation returned strong as ever. The sudden shock of these strong emotions hitting me forced an audible gasp out of me. In order to stop my heart from exploding, I quickly decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

"Bu-uh you're pretty," I confessed. The unexpected compliment caught her off guard and she quickly looked away, but not before I saw how pink she turned. My plan worked, but now the situation was even more awkward. Tide, however, was oblivious to the whole scene that played out right before him and continued to goof off around Elizabeth in celebration of her evolution. Looking at him gave me an idea to save myself from all this awkwardness.

"A-Are you guys hungry?" I asked, still averting my gaze from Elizabeth. Tide's eyes lit up and he charged at me, wagging his tail as if he were threatening to take off into the air. I took that as a yes and headed for my pack to pull out the bag of Pokefood that I brought. Pulling out the now half-empty bag, I noticed that Elizabeth was awkwardly inching closer to me, her gaze averted and her thumbs fumbling.

"Uhm, E-Eric…I" She was abruptly caught off by a quiet, but distinct rustle in the bushes behind her. We looked at each other and exchanged a worried glance. I dropped the bag of food on the ground then took a step closer to the bush where I heard the sound coming from. I was about to take another step in its direction when Elizabeth suddenly walked past me and crouched down in front of it. Not a second later a little round Pokemon came marching out, holding a berry branch in its mouth.

"Shroomursh," It chirped happily. With a swift motion, Elizabeth plucked the branch out of the Shroomish's mouth, then pat its head like how I always do. I would've questioned her ethics regarding taking another Pokemon's food, but that thought quickly vanished when I saw how happy and contempt the Shroomish looked about having its meal taken.

"He is one of the Shroomish we saved last night," She clarified. "Better make a meal for four, Eric!" Elizabeth declared turning to me, then ushered our little guest towards the now smoldering ashes of last night's campfire. I saw her taking a peek at me as she walked by and when she noticed she was caught, Elizabeth quickened her pace and hurried for the campsite. I can't believe how much cuter she got when she Evolved into…into her new form. Thinking about how cute she was now made me realize that I didn't even know what this evolution was. I went back to my bag and pulled out the two bowls and the plate I brought along with my pot, then I pocketed my Pokedex as I couldn't carry everything with just two hands. I laid down the bowls and the plates near the tent and after a bit of sweet-talking, got Blitz to come back down from his branch and eat with us.

"There aren't enough plates for this many of us, you'll have to wait a turn. Sorry, Elizabeth!" I apologized and gently brushed her hair with my hand to make it up to her.

"No problem!" Elizabeth looked up at me. "We could just share whatever you eat. I'll share my Oran berries with you in exchange!" She offered, waving the berry branch enticingly. I took her up on it and asked her to put some water in the pot while I started up the fire. She eagerly grabbed it and scurried off towards the creek in anticipation of sharing a meal with me. Seeing her this excited made my heart beat a little quicker, but I snapped myself out of it and started fumbling with the matches I brought. After a few stubborn matches that refused to ignite, I finally got the fire burning. I was expecting to see Elizabeth next to me with an almost too full pot, but when I looked up I saw that she was still standing in the creek and playing in the water. She jumped up and down, twirling mid-air then landing for only a second before taking back off into the air. She was dancing. Seeing her like this ignited something within me. A warm familiar, comforting feeling.

"I want to see her dance every day for the rest of my life," I thought to myself, then regretting it immediately since I forgot that I was ogling a girl with very strong telepathic powers. Elizabeth suddenly stopped dancing and shyly turned around, smiling ear to ear pink as a Nanab berry. She bowed, holding her skirt as if she were performing on a stage, and with that same smile etched into her lips, she picked up the pan and slowly floated up to me.

"I-I could dance for you, i-if that's what you want," She offered, now turning dangerously red from embarrassment. "W-Wait! That came out wrong!" Elizabeth yelped, showing the pan into my hands, then buried her face in her hands to escape the situation. I laughed awkwardly and put the pan over the roaring fire with hasty, mechanical motions. I sat down on the big log I rolled here yesterday and reached into my bag, looking for a pack of instant porridge to serve as our breakfast. After a bit of digging, I managed to pull out one packet of Chesto berry-flavored instant porridge. I heard Elizabeth plop down next to me. The sudden burst of excitement I got from her sitting so close to me nearly made me drop the pack.

"Would you like to drop in the porridge?" I asked, trying to break the tension.

"Y-Yes, please," She shyly accepted, then proceeded to drop the full, unopened pack into the water. Luckily I managed to quickly save it from the boiling waves of my pot, while Elizabeth watched from behind her fingers.

"S-Sorry, I didn't know I was supposed to open it," She apologized. I pat her head to calm her down. She nuzzled her head into my palm, welcoming my touch. Tide, Blitz, and the Shroomish have already finished their feast and loafed off around the campsite. Blitz flew back to his branch and picked at his wings, while Tide decided to take a nap in the shade of the tent. The Shroomish sat down in front of a big stump and lazily watched the other two. Elizabeth kept scooching closer as I stirred our breakfast. When she got close enough, she rested her head on my shoulder, making my heart nearly jump out of my chest. Being the powerful psychic Pokemon she is, she felt it and quickly jolted back into her previous sitting position.

"It's ready!" I exclaimed, pulling the pot off the fire and placing it between us. "I'll grab my normal spoon for you, and I'll eat with this wooden one," I offered, reaching for my backpack. Elizabeth stopped me, pulling me back by my shirt with that same ear to ear smile from before.

"I said we would share! That means, this too!" She pointed at the wooden spoon in my hand.

"Okay," I gulped. "It's a bit too hot right now," I explained, scooping out a small amount and brought it to my lips then started blowing on it to cool it down a little.

"W-Why are you k-k-kissing it?" Her question nearly made me blow all the porridge off the spoon.

"W-What?" I nearly yelled from the mixture of excitement and surprise from Elizabeth's sudden adorable question. "No, no, no, no! I was just blowing on it to cool it down!" I pointed out desperately.

"I see…" She stated, looking at the ground. "C-Could I have that bite?" She turned back to me blushing harder than ever. I slowly nodded and moved the spoon up to her mouth. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth in anticipation of her delicious meal. I felt my heart pounding in my chest as I put it in her mouth. She hesitantly bit down on it and I quickly pulled the spoon away, so she could eat and so that I wouldn't explode. Elizabeth slowly started chewing, then her eyes lit up and she happily munched down the porridge I gave her.

"I guess that means you like it, huh?" I snickered and got a spoonful for myself. She nodded enthusiastically and patiently watched me eat my piece before she demanded another bite. We finished our meal in less than a minute, leaving the pot looking even cleaner than it was before we started cooking.

"It's gone already?" Elizabeth whined, dropping the wooden spoon in the empty pot with a depressing clank.

"Sadly, yes," I confirmed with an equally sad look. "But we still have those berries!" I chirped and reached for the branch next to Elizabeth, only to have her slap my hand away.

"You fed me this food, s-so I will f-feed you this one!" Elizabeth pointed the berry branch at me as if it were some deadly weapon. She then carefully plucked one Oran berry off of it and slowly raised her hand up to my face. Imitating her, I closed my eyes and opened my mouth a little. When I felt her silky smooth fingers touch my lips I thought I was going to go crazy. My brain went numb and I had to use every ounce of my spirit to chew that berry like a normal person and not drool like some brain dead Slowpoke. This went on for a little while, but thankfully there weren't too many berries on that branch.

"Aww, this is also gone now," Elizabeth whimpered, idly turning the now bare berry branch in her hand. I nodded with empathy, but I was glad I no longer had to endure any more of these heart-pounding scenarios. She looked so adorable sitting next to me. Her flowing green hair, her soft skin, those enchanting crimson eyes…

"Stop thinking, you idiot! She can hear that!" I yelled to myself mentally. I slowly turned my head back in her direction and saw her blissfully doodling in the dirt with her stick. Seems like she was too busy focusing on her art and wasn't able to hear my thoughts. I leaned back, stretching when I realized my Pokedex was still in my pocket.

"Ooh, Elizabeth!" I tapped her on the shoulder. "I still haven't scanned your evolution, would you mind if I did now?" I pleaded excitedly. She rolled her eyes playfully then smiled up at me, or rather into the camera of the Pokedex.

"Pretty," I thought, forgetting once again whom I was ogling. Elizabeth started awkwardly fidgeting, proving that she was in fact listening. "Ehm. I mean the scanner app is so pretty! It has a nice design!" I quickly slammed my finger down on the screen and initiated the scan.

"Kirlia! The emotion Pokemon! It is said that a Kirlia that is exposed to the positive emotions of its Trainer grows beautiful!" The Pokedex stated in its usual monotone tone.

"I must have a lot of positive emotions then," I blurted out unconsciously, reading the data that the scan provided. Still absent-minded of what I just said, I pocketed my Pokedex and looked down at the dying flames of the campfire. I pondered what our next move should be as my gaze shifted between Tide, the guest, and Blitz. However, my train of thought was halted by a green blur that I noticed from the corner of my eye. Elizabeth was furiously flailing her legs with an ear to ear grin permanently painted on her face.

"WE SHOULD START PACKING UP!" I yelled in my panic and jolted up, finally realizing what I had said. Tide, Blitz, and probably all the Pokemon in a 5-mile radius woke up and stared at me confused. The beaming girl sitting next to me, however just simply stood up and walked towards the tent, passing a loving glance at me as she went by. I entrusted the deconstruction of the tent to my little buddies while I put out the fire and went down to the creek to wash off the bowls and the spotless pot we ate out of.

"MUD! MUDKIP!" Hearing the sounds of struggle, I quickly turned around to see that the tent had collapsed on top of Tide. The little Mudkip was scurrying under the tent's cloth desperately looking for a way out, only to quickly find himself running in circles. Elizabeth lifted up the deep green cloth and rescued my little buddy, who ran to hide behind the log we were sitting on and watched as the rest of them tried to figure out how to do the task I gave them.

"That's okay guys, I'll deconstruct the tent." I chuckled, walking up to the scene of the crime. "How about you guys get my dry clothes off of that branch and put them down somewhere?" I suggested, then got to work on the tent. A few minutes later we were all set and ready to go. I just had to change.

"I'll be right back, I'll just put my travel clothes on," I stated, grabbing my pants off the ground and hid behind some bushes. As I was taking off my boxers I started feeling dizzy. My head felt fuzzy and I had double vision, I grabbed my forehead and that's when I felt another presence in my mind.

"Elizabeth! I said no peeking!" I shouted, holding myself up against a tree. I heard a yelp coming from her and the dizziness quickly vanished. After I changed I marched out of the bushes, feeling a little groggy. Elizabeth was staring at her feet, embarrassed of the mischief she tried to pull. Tide was chatting with the Shroomish, while Blitz was sitting on my backpack and listening to their conversation.

"Alright guys and girl, time to get going!" I ushered, withdrawing Tide and Blitz back into their balls. "What? Do you also wanna come with us?" I squat down to the little Shroomish looking up at me.

"Mish!" He nodded cheerfully. I pat his head and unclipped an empty Pokeball off my belt.

"Welcome to our group, Brim!" I proclaimed, capturing him and turned to Elizabeth victoriously. She rolled her eyes, disapproving of the name I gave to the Shroomish. I clipped Brim's ball onto my belt and ruffled up her hair getting her back for the eye roll.

"You're too big to ride on my shoulder now," I stated, strapping on my backpack. She looked up at me defeated, quivering her tender lips in grievance of my statement. At that moment I wanted to hold her tight and not let go until she was smiling again. I quickly smacked that thought out of my mind and came up with a far better alternative.

"W-We could just h-hold hands and walk together…if you want," I offered, holding out my hand. Her smile returned and she quickly grabbed hold of my hand as if she were waiting for an eternity to do so. I snickered at her reaction then steered ourselves towards the road so we could continue our journey towards Rustboro city, hand in hand.

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**Author's note: Sorry for the slight delay, I had some stuff to deal with, but I hope it was worth the wait. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter as it marks the first step of Eric and Elizabeth's romantic relationship. I personally love awkward romantic interactions so you may look forward to seeing it in the future. In the meanwhile feel free to check out the official Instagram of Eric and Elizabeth the Gardevoir, davidt00ns. Don't let the lack of new art content scare you, or the lack of quality. Now that I finished this chapter I can finally get back to drawing. **


	14. Bring the heat

**Disclaimer! I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo, or a lot of willpower. What I do own are this fanfiction and some nice looking pants. Don't sue me!**

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"Eriiiiic!" Elizabeth whined, clinging to the jacket tied around my waist. "Can we please turn back? I can't take the heat!" Her pleading words tugged at my heartstrings while her hands tugged at my jacket in a desperate attempt to sway me and turn us around. So far in our travels, we had the luxury of the shade provided by dense foliage or tall buildings, however, this particular area of the forest trail lacked both. The local Wurmple population made sure to consume every single leaf in a 20m radius of the road, allowing the scorching summer sun to blissfully shine on any unlucky traveler that happened to walk this path. It would've been simple to escape the sun by walking next to the trail where shade and life-giving foliage was still in one piece, however, this area didn't get the name 'Thorny Road' for no reason. A rare and painful type of vegetation surrounded Thorny Road that deterred both bigger Pokemon and overheated travelers, thus allowing the Wurmple population to explode in this area.

"At least you have a hat to give you shade!" I reminded her, trying to sound annoyed but the heat exhaustion prevented me. "What do I get? Nothing! There aren't even any clouds to give me a brief glimpse relief from this insane heat." I pointed towards the sky weakly. Today was the clearest day of summer, not even one of those almost see-through clouds could be seen. Just the infinite blue sky and the bright afternoon sun looking down at us and laughing at our struggle.

"So what? Now that I'm this big it doesn't cover me like it used to!" She puffed up her cheek and pulled her hat tighter onto her head, nearly tearing the fabric with her horns. She was right to be peeved. Since she was no longer the size of a ragdoll, the 'big' straw hat didn't protect her as much.

"Don't complain about that, Elizabeth! Now that you're this size…" I trailed off as I looked down at her. This seemed to pique her interest and she peeked out from under the brim expectantly.

"N-Now that I'm this size?" She inched closer to me, still looking up in anticipation. If my face hadn't been already sunburnt, she'd see that I grew a shade or two pinker. "What's so special about me being this big?" She egged on, somehow ignoring the hundred-degree weather.

"Uhm, well now that you're this tall…" I tried desperately to come up with a normal end to that sentence, but the pause I took made her even more anxious for an answer. "Now that you're kinda human-sized, we can get you a parasol or something to save you from the heat," Now it was I who was anxious about the answer I gave, but it seemed to satisfy her. She turned her gaze back to the road and looked deep in thought.

"Hey, Eric?" She suddenly asked.

"Y-Yes?" I was slightly caught off and managed to jolt back despite my exhaustion.

"What's a parasol?" She looked up at me confused. Her question was unexpected, but I was glad it wasn't something else. However, it was weird that she didn't just jump into my mind and get the answer for herself. Maybe heat exhaustion prevents psychic pokemon from using their powers, or at least that's what I thought at that moment. Even if the heat didn't disrupt psychic powers, it drained my mental capacities. So rather than trying to explain something like a parasol to someone who didn't know the difference between a napkin and a hat, I opted for another solution.

"Can't you just hop into my head, like you always do?" I shielded my eyes from the sun, trying to get a better look at the road ahead, as my priority was still finding shade. When I didn't hear an answer for several seconds, I looked to my right to see what was up with Elizabeth. She was twirling her fingers, clearly a little embarrassed about my question. She took nervous glances at me, too afraid to answer.

"What's wrong, Elizabeth? Did I say something weird?" I stopped and knelt down so we were face to face. She was a bit startled and took a step back and started fidgeting.

"Well, I just didn't think it was okay anymore," She muttered under her breath, prompting me to raise an eyebrow. Sensing that I didn't get her point, she continued. "I read your mind when we left the creek and…holding hands," She covered her face, embarrassed

"You kept thinking how different I am now and how things might have to change now that I look like this…" Her voice faded in and out as if someone was playing with the volume of a movie. I nearly had forgotten that she wasn't actually talking to me all this time, but talked to me telepathically and tricked my brain to perceive her voice as if it was coming from her.

"Elizabeth…" I pat her head, comforting her. "Things will change now that you're this size," I felt her sorrow leaking into me, a sensation I haven't felt in a while. "But what the two of us have will never change, no matter how you look! I'll always be your friend," I gently pried her hands away from her face. Her eyes were a bit watery, and her tender lips quivered a little.

"What will change now, Eric?" Her voice was a lot clearer now as she regained some of her composure. I held her hands as I began my explanation.

"Well for starters, I'll have to buy more food!" I chuckled, but she just looked embarrassed. "And you can't ride on my shoulder anymore, or at least not when I got this thing on," I gestured towards my pack. "But I'll still like you just as much as I do now, if not more!" I smiled, trying to reassure her. I wiped a tear from her eye and she nuzzled her face into my hand as I did.

"I like you too, Eric!" She said blissfully. I quickly pulled my hand away and grabbed my chest as I thought my heart was about to explode! I could feel my face turning even redder than the sunburn I got and I was now sweating even more. Elizabeth looked up at me a bit shocked at first, but then her quivering lips curled up into a smirk and she let out the sweetest bell-like laughter I ever heard. She was holding her belly and pointing at me as she laughed her butt off.

"H-Hey! Stop laughing, you!" I demanded, now feeling even more embarrassed. "I try and cheer you up and this is how you repay me?" I stood up and turned away with my arms crossed to convey my displeasure of the situation.

"S-Sorry, I'm sorry, but that was very cute," She managed to say between laughs.

"Hey! I'm not cute, okay?!" I clarified, kneeling back down ready for my revenge. "If anyone is cute, it's you~!" I booped her 'nose' amplifying my charming one-liner. It's Super Effective! Elizabeth nearly fell on her cute butt, she was so taken back. Satisfied with the reaction, I stood back up and dusted off my pants.

"Let's keep going, I think I can see some trees in the distance that the Wurmple hasn't stripped clean," I held out my hand to her, ready to get going again. She pulled down her hat with one hand and took mine with the other. As we continued walking down Thorny Road, I felt a sensation far different form the unbearable heat cast upon us. It was the familiar incredible feeling of Elizabeth invading my mind.

"Oh! So that's what a parasol is!" She exclaimed victoriously. I sighed and smiled down at the little Pokemon next to me, basking in her self-proclaimed victory. She was too wrapped up in her glory to notice the few lingering thoughts I had at the moment, which I quickly ushered away.

An hour or so has passed since the little heart to heart with Elizabeth and we finally found shade once again. Now that we no longer could complain about how warm it was we didn't really have any way to distract ourselves from the length of the trip. We shifted our gaze to each other from time to time, expecting the other to bring up a good conversation topic, but we already talked about the most interesting topics. She asked a few things about living in the city and some about Brandan and May, whom she seemed particularly interested in. Well actually she was interested in the type of relationship I had with her, Elizabeth sure is curious about the weirdest topics. I assume she already read my mind about numerous topics, and only a few such as these were left on the table. I asked her what she thought about our journey, my other Pokemon. She didn't really have any strong opinions about the journey itself, her only thought about was that it's nice to spend time with me. On the other hand, she had a lot to say about my other Pokemon. Apparently, she reads their minds quite often. Now we just walked in silence, enjoying the other's company and the ambiance of the Petalburg Woods.

"Hey, Eric! I got an idea!" Elizabeth chirped excitedly. "Let's play a game!" She looked really eager about this idea of hers, so I indulged her.

"Alright, what kind of game? " I asked, raising an eyebrow, unsure what kind of game a Pokemon would come up with. I saw wild Pokemon play with each other, they usually just chase each other or play-fight. As I wasn't keen on fighting the strongest combater in my party and didn't feel like playing tag with a girl who can teleport, my curiosity was mixed with a hint of anxiety. However what little bit of anxiety I felt quickly got swept away by the eager grin on Elizabeth's face.

"You see how the few beams of the sun make those big spots?" She pointed forward in the direction of the road. Now that trees were once again lush they blocked most of the sunlight that would hit the road, draping the path in darkness. This 'blanket' was interlaced with spots of light in varying sizes, depending on how much sun the trees let through. Why Elizabeth would point that out was beyond me.

"What about them?" I looked ahead, scratching my chin.

"The game is, we will try and walk in the shadowy spots only and whoever steps into the light first, loses!" Elizabeth explained. She looked really happy about her little idea, so I went along with it.

"Alright, I'll play, but what does the winner get?" I asked, looking back at Elizabeth. She didn't expect my question, she didn't think about a prize. Perhaps Pokemon don't play for prizes in the wild, or well anywhere really. She looked deep in thought and raised her hand to her chin to imitate me. I didn't really have anything of value besides my Pokedex and food, but I doubt she'd want either. Elizabeth on the other hand didn't own anything besides the hat I bought her, so there wasn't anything I could ask of her as my prize. Maybe a few things, but I would never dare to ask.

"Hmm, how about the loser does what the winner wants for a day?" Her answer surprised me, I never expected her to come up with such a complex prize. Since I couldn't come up with any better ideas, I decided to take her up on her offer. The game began! I snuck, jumped, and tumbled my way through the shadows of the path, being extra careful to avoid even going near the puddles of light scattered around the road. Ten minutes in I was already getting out of breath, because the foliage started getting thinner, letting more and more light through. To avoid such large spots I had to jump at almost every obstacle, most of the time I actually needed a running start. Elizabeth on the other hand had it easy. She simply walked along the path and whenever she came across a sunny spot she would simply teleport across and then walk slowly as if nothing happened. When she was just a Ralts, teleporting exhausted her, but now even after her tenth teleport, she kept walking with the same elegant posture she started out with.

"That' n-not very f-fair!" I wheezed. She turned to me confused as if she just had been walking the whole time. "You...keep teleporting! It's unfair!" I pointed at her weakly.

"Well, I'm not very strong, I can't jump across! And look, my legs aren't as long as yours, to begin with," Elizabeth pulled her tutu up slightly and pointed at her legs. She quickly pulled it back down once she realized what she just did. After a short pause, she admitted defeat and the game could continue.

"Heh, guess she wanted to show me my prize," I thought to myself, once again forgetting to acknowledge the telepath next to me. I heard Elizabeth gasp as soon as I finished my train of thought. She was beet red, clutching onto her tutu as if an unseen force was threatening to tear it away. I tumbled back realizing what I just said and fell backward right into a sunny spot.

"Wait, Elizabeth! I-I didn't mean-" She cut me off with a victorious cheer before I could finish my apology!

"Yay! I won!" She cheered and ran over to embrace me. The impact from the sudden forceful hug completely knocked me on my back. "You fell into the light spot! I win, Eric!" Rubbing in her victory like that, made me realize what an awful winner she was.

"Yeah, yeah you win! I admit defeat," I put my head back on the ground and spread my arms out in exaggeration. Elizabeth repositioned herself to assert her victory even further by sitting on my stomach with her arms on her hips, truly a stance worthy of a great warrior.

"Okay, okay this was fun, but can you get off me please?" I tried to sit up but Elizabeth's weight prevented me. "The way you're on me is a little uncomfortable…" I mumbled.

"Huh? Should I move lower?" She attempted to scootch back before she even finished her sentence, but I was able to prevent that disaster and grabbed hold of her arms. She tilted her head to the side, confused by my actions. "I thought you wanted me to move," Elizabeth sounded so innocent, clearly unaware of the position she's in, or rather the position she put ME in.

"J-just stand up, please," I pleaded, now turning dangerously red. I let go of her hands and she slowly got up, careful not to make a mistake and get scolded. She stepped aside, and stood next to my head, forcing me to hastily turn my head in the other direction.

"What's wrong, you see something down the road?" She bent over to get a better look at the road ahead of us. "Are you looking at that human?" Elizabeth pointed at a figure in the distance. Up until now, I hadn't noticed the figure walking towards us as my gaze was fixated on something else. I sat up as he got closer.

"The hell are you doing on the ground, kid?" The stranger shouted, sounding very annoyed. "First that stupid professor gets away no there's some annoying brat playing in the dirt" He grunted. The grumpy man wore something that looked like a red hooded onesie with horns.

"Hey, look! You two match," I tapped Elizabeth's horn and pointed at the man approaching us. I got up and picked up her hat that fell off when she tackled me. "There you go," I held out her hat, but she wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were pinned on the man who was now only a couple of feet away.

"What are ya' doing out here, kid? You lost or something?" The stranger's question didn't seem sincere, it sounded like something he'd just say to get your attention.

"Nope, I'm on my way to Rustboro to challenge Roxanne!" I proudly declared. "What about you? And what's with the pajama?" I chuckled and pointed at his outfit. The man didn't take my joke lightly.

"Why you little brat! To insult the uniform of Team Magma is to insult all of Team Magma!" He furiously declared and reached for his Pokeball, ready to battle. "I, Team Magma grunt Max challa-" His words fell short as in the blink of an eye Elizabeth appeared floating right in front of his face with a pale pink aura swirling around her. She raised an arm ready to put the guy in his place.

"Elizabeth, stop! What are you doing?" I yelled and rushed forward to stop her from attacking that man. She turned her head in my direction, but her eyes were still fixed onto Max.

"I'm protecting you, there is so much animosity flowing out of him. It's similar to those Zigzagoon that chased us." She stated coldly. Max did look quite angry, but now with Elizabeth's hand inches away from his face, he seemed more frightened than anything.

"How about you come back down and we kick his butt in a Pokemon battle?" I negotiated and inched closer, careful not to set her off. She sighed and lowered her arm. I reached under her arm and pulled her away from Max. She was more relaxed now, but she was staring daggers at the guy in front of us.

"Alright then, where were we?" I looked up at Max after I put down the angry little girl next to me. "We were going to battle, right?" I asked, unsure if he was too shaken to fight or not.

"Y-You know what, I think I'm just gonna go…" Max sheepishly replied and put his ball back on his belt. He walked by us, careful not to stay too close to Elizabeth, who still glared at him with malicious intent. I grabbed her by the hand and kept walking towards Rustboro, now at slightly quickened paste.

"You wanna tell me what that was about?" I finally asked after we were a good distance away. "Look, I know you wanna protect me and all, but this was a bit too far. He was only going to battle me, not hurt me," I scolded. She didn§t answer, so I looked at her to make sure if she was listening to me or not.

"E-Elizabeth, I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound so bad!" I apologized. Her eyes were full of tears and tiny streaks of water ran down her cheeks. I immediately stopped and knelt down in front of her. She weakly wiped her tears away and looked up at me with those big crimson eyes.

"I'm sorry, Eric! I just wanted to help! You helped me so much, I just wanted to do some good for you," Her voice was so sad that it made me tear up a bit. Without hesitation, I pulled her into a hug. She gently put her arms around me as well, as if she was afraid I'd pull away.

"I know you want to help, Elizabeth and it makes me happy that you care this much about me!" She tightened her embrace at my words. "Just don't be like that again, okay? It really scared me.'' I pat her head, comforting her. After a short pause, she nodded into my shoulder, accepting my request.

"Alright, Elizabeth let's get going," I started pulling away, but her grasp kept tightening.

"No, I won so you have to do what I want!" She looked up at me with a weak smile. I sighed and hugged her some more. The warm familiar feeling started oozing out of Elizabeth and into me. It was as incredible as ever, but this time it felt a little different. Whatever was different about it, it made my heart beat a lot quicker. Not wanting to face an uncomfortable situation, I pleaded with Elizabeth to end the hug and after a couple of counteroffers later, she was willing to let me go.

"Fine, I'll carry you, but only a short distance. I'm very exhausted," I offered. Elizabeth was back to her joyful self, with a smile sweet enough to make the ocean drinkable. I picked her up in a few different ways to see which she like the most. She finally chose the carry method, the appropriately dubbed 'princes carry'.

"Are you comfortable?" I looked down at the blissful little Pokemon laying in my arms.

"Yeah, this is nice," She stretched, clearly enjoying the ride. I rolled my eyes, but accepted the situation, seeing as I agreed to do whatever she wants. As I walked along the path, a single thought kept popping up in my mind.

"She looks so human."

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**Author's note: I apologize for the hiatus! I didn't plan on taking such a long pause between uploads. My life had been pretty chaotic so far and it is still quite chaotic, but I'm trying to get it under control. This chapter was one hell of a struggle. It took me three tries to get it right, I ended up writing two other chapters around the same length as this, but I didn't really like them. I'll try and wrangle my life under control so I can continue E&E at a regular pace, cause I really love this story and I love writing it. And I love you guys!**

**Also to the few people who follow my Instagram for the official art, sorry I'll try and get more regular there too. I'll do my best!**


	15. A rainy day in Rustboro

**DISCLAIMER! I do not own Pokemon, Gamefreak, Nintendo, or whoever is related to the Pokemon companies! I do however own a little bit more willpower as you can see!**

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The sun was already starting to set when we cleared the tree line and laid eyes upon the outskirts of Rustboro. An old-looking little playground lied at the edge of the woods, forty or so of feet away from us. The place looked abandoned. Considering that probably not a lot of people would venture this far out of the city unless they had business or were Pokemon trainers like me, there wasn't really any reason to keep it maintained. Never the less it was still a welcome sight to see after two days spent walking through the forest. I wasn't the only one who was excited to see something new.

"Oooh! Eric what is that thing?!" Elizabeth shouted excitedly and took off in the direction of the playground. She had so much energy for someone who spent the better half of their day walking. Not wanting to get left behind I also started walking towards the playground, but by the time I took my second step she was already at the swing set. Elizabeth was carefully observing it, trying to figure out what that thing was and if she could have fun with it.

"That's a swing. It's a thing human children play with," I explained, walking around the 'attractions'. There was not a lot to see or rather play with inside the abandoned playground. An old wooden see-saw laid on the edge of it. It was carved out to resemble Rayquaza, but the years took a toll on it, rendering it to be nothing more than an offensive caricature of the real deal. On closer inspections, a few of the other playthings were based on the Hoenn trinity. The rusty looking slide was actually Groudon's back, but it took me a second to realize. There was a spring rider made to look like Kyogre, but one of its fins were chewed off.

"Wow, Pokemon don't respect the trinity," I snickered and turned back towards Elizabeth. "Hey, can I ask you a weird question?" I asked, making my way around the swings so I could push her.

"Uh, sure? What is it?" She replied curiously and plopped down on the swing in front of me.

"Do you know anything about the Hoenn trinity?" I didn't really expect anything, but the question was still on my mind.

"The what?" She looked back confused. Her presence in my mind suddenly grew stronger as she dug into my memories. "No, not really. I have never seen any Pokemon that looks like that," She turned back and just kept enjoying playing with her human friend.

My back started to ache after five minutes or so, prompting me to take my backpack off and put a hold on our playtime. Watching the sunset in this abandoned playground felt strangely serene, or maybe it was because of whom I was watching it with. Pondering about the pretty site made me remember my other little buddies.

"I guess you guys would like to stretch your legs too, huh?" I thought to myself and released my other Pokemon so I could share this moment with them too. Tide as usual looked very tired, he must've been sleeping when I released him, Brim, on the other hand, looked full of energy and hopped up and down at the sight of Elizabeth and me. Blitz was just surprised to see the place I chose to release him and nodded in my direction before flying to the top of the Groudon slide.

"Same as always," I sighed.

"Don't worry, he likes you. He just doesn't want to show it," Elizabeth comforted me and rested her hand on my shoulder.

"At least you show that you like me, right Tide?" I reached for my little buddy, but he just flopped on his side and went back to sleep. "Doesn't anybody like me?!" I whined dramatically. Brim took this as his cue and bolted to my feet and rested his body against it. I leaned forward and pet him, appreciating the sudden affection.

"I like you too, you know…" Elizabeth muttered sheepishly. She was starting to fidget, clearly embarrassed by what she said.

"Thanks! I like you too," I placed a hand on her thigh then turned back to pet Brim. He was really enjoying the attention he was getting, making him even more energetic. "Why don't you two play around for a bit, but then we'll have to get going," I got up slowly, trying not to kick the happy little mushroom as I did.

A loud crash of thunder came from behind us, causing the three of us to quickly turn around and Tide to wake up in a panic. I looked over to Elizabeth, but I didn't even need to say a word. She was already moving towards my backpack and the Pokeballs lying next to them. She threw two of them to me then hurried over to Tide with the third one. She carefully put it down in front of him with a patient smile. Brim was shivering and hiding behind my leg, the loud bang must've really scared him.

"It's gonna be okay, Brim!" I knelt down to comfort him before returning him back into his ball. Luckily I didn't have to run to the other side of the playground to get Blitz, he had already landed next to me and just stared at the coming clouds.

"At least you like me on the inside…" I thought to myself and zapped him back into his ball and clipped it onto my belt along with Brim's ball. Elizabeth was tugging at my shirt and proudly presented Tide's Pokeball to me. "Good job, Elizabeth!" I pat her head. She almost melted into my hand but another loud crash of thunder spooked the both of us.

"Let's leave the pampering for later, we gotta move. That's gonna be a mean storm!" I exclaimed and ran to get my pack, but Elizabeth was one step ahead of me and I came crashing face-first into my levitating backpack. With a heavy thud, I fell on my butt and clutched my aching nose instinctively.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Eric!" She came rushing to my side to comfort me, but she lost focus and the backpack came crashing down barely missing my foot. "Oh no! I'm sorry, let me help!" She reached out an arm to pull me up.

"No problem, or should I say nose problem?" I joked, still holding my nose. "Right, we don't have time for jokes, we better hurry if we wanna make it to Rustboro before we get drenched!" I ushered and flung my backpack over my shoulder. Elizabeth and I booked it out of there in spite of our exhaustion. While she was a lot slower than me on foot, she still kept getting ahead of me. Every twenty seconds or so she would pop up in a cloud of pink smoke a good distance ahead of me.

We rushed through the rest of the way to Rustboro in mere minutes! We slowed down a bit when we entered the city because Elizabeth had reached her limit and couldn't teleport anymore. I held her hand and power walked the rest of the way to the Pokemon center. Unlike in Petalburg the Pokemon center wasn't in the middle of the city, it was more on the southern side and a lot closer to the entrance, lucky for us. Exhausted and lightly drenched we stumbled through the automatic doors. To my disappointment, there was a bit of a line to the reception desk. A few angry-looking trainers and a couple of fellow drenched adventurers made up the bigger portion of the line. There were a few everyday citizens, probably their Pokemon ate something bad or just wasn't feeling well. Seeing that we would have to spend a little time here, I walked Elizabeth over to one of the comfortable couches in the corner of the room and sat down. She looked really exhausted, her breathing was a little heavier than usual and she was holding the side of her head with one hand and tightly clutching onto mine with the other.

"You're gonna be fine, Elizabeth! Nurse Joy will fix you up in no time!" I reassured her then pulled her head into my shoulder so she would be a bit more comfortable. I didn't have time to be embarrassed about the awkward position I put myself in, my Pokemon was feeling bad, and making her feel better was my top priority. We sat there for what felt like an hour, by the time it was our turn the last faint beam of sunlight finally disappeared and the only light outside was that of the streetlamps scattered throughout the city and the occasional bolt of lightning.

"Next please!" Nurse Joy chirped from behind her desk. The same warm and welcoming smile was etched on her face as the other Joys. So charming and kind, no wonder that kid with the scruffy brown hair was fawning over her.

"Hello, nurse Joy, could you make sure my Pokemon are doing okay? Oh, and I would like a room for the night," I asked, trying to replicate her affectionate smile and tone. However, my version seemed less pure, which made both her and me a little uncomfortable. To ease the situation, I got straight to the point and unclipped my Pokeballs and showed Nurse Joy my Pokedex.

"Alright, Elizabeth I'm gonna need you to go back into your ball for just a little bit so that Nurse Joy can make you feel better," I explained, kneeling down. I know she didn't really like being in her Pokeball, that's why she was traveling on foot, but Joy couldn't help her otherwise. She sighed and gave me a sad look before finally letting go of my hand. I pat her head and pulled out her Pokeball.

"See you soon, okay?" With her withdrawn, Nurse Joy was able to start the recovery process. She took my Pokeballs and went into the room behind her.

"Your Pokemon will be healed shortly, please take a seat while I fetch you a room key," Joy smiled and dug through a cabinet in her desk. While I was waiting for my buddies to return I decided to read a few of the magazines that were laid out on the coffee table. Master's Monthly, Vogue, The Rusty burrow, and a few gossip magazines were a few of the options. I was never really a fan of gossip, even if some of the articles looked eye-catching most of it was probably fake. The title 'Lavaridge woman marries Pokemon' was written in big yellow letters on one of them.

"Yeah, right like that would ever happen!" I thought to myself and stared out the window for the remainder of the time. Not long after Nurse Joy came back out with my Pokeballs and a room key for the third floor.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy, I wish you a restful evening!" I said, not noticing the visible bags under her eyes. She replied with a halfhearted smile and went back to her desk. "That was awkward," I thought to myself and fastened my little buddies to my belt before heading up the stairs to finally get some rest and more importantly a shower.

Most Pokemon centers had four floors, balcony included. The first floor was the medical area dedicated to sick Pokemon and it was the main floor of the building. The second floor had two-person rooms and some recovery rooms. Yes, the first floor was full of recovery rooms, but the Pokemon center dedicated a part of the second floor as a secondary healing area in case of emergencies. The fourth floor had the staff's rooms, like Nurse Joy and the Chansey. Finally, the third floor had the single-person rooms where I would spend the evening. I would've preferred a room with two beds, knowing full well Elizabeth would rather not sleep in her Pokeball and opt to spend the night curled up next to me. Room 307 was like all the other rooms on the third floor, small cozy, and had only one bed.

"Home sweet home, huh?" I snickered and closed the door behind me. There wasn't really anything to mention about the place. A small kitchen counter was to my right with a quietly humming mini-fridge under it. A plugin stovetop rested in the cabinet next to a few mugs and plates. The drawers were full of plain-looking silverware and one had an unopened pack of napkins. The closet that the room provided was rather big, too bad I didn't have all that many clothes to hang in there, so I just tossed my backpack in there as a whole. There was a full-length mirror on the inside that I spotted just before closing the closet door.

"Hey there, handsome~" I flirted with my reflection. On closer inspections, I realized how drenched I really got in the storm. Ruffling up my hair made me a little less depressing to look at, but I knew I had to take a proper shower rather than the one nature presented me with. I unbuckled my belt and tossed it on the bed along with my Pokeballs. The huge window by the bed provided me with just enough light to make out which ball was which. Not wanting to play favorites I decided to let them all out while I freshen up.

"Evening, guys! Oh, and lady," I smiled at Elizabeth and continued. "Uh, I'm gonna take a shower, why don't you guys get comfortable?" I insisted and looked inside the closet to dig through my pack. I pulled out my pajama along with my spare clothes which were in a desperate need of a wash. With my clothes safely crumpled into a ball, I headed into the bathroom for a well-deserved shower. Unlike my little buddies, except Elizabeth, I spent all day sweating and walking while they just chilled inside their Pokeballs and only came out to have lunch, which finally depleted what little Pokefood I had left.

I turned back towards the bathroom and narrowly avoided stepping on Brim. He didn't even notice and just continued walking around the room in amazement. Tide, surprisingly was wide awake and was eying the bed up and down, sizing it up before attempting to jump on it. Sadly, my little Mudkip didn't have the best jumping abilities and tumbled back down onto the carpeted floor, pulling most of the blanket off with him. The overly affectionate Taillow of my party resorted to his usual mannerisms and just perched himself on the top of the closet, looking over the overcrowded little room.

"Okay, this is not working out. There's too many of us!" I dropped the ball of clothes and reached for my Pokeballs. "I'll see you guys in the morning! Breakfast is on me," I winked at Tide. Hearing his favorite word, he practically teleported to my feet. Having three members of my party withdrawn made the room feel a lot bigger. As I was looking at the three Pokeballs in my hand a thought had occurred to me.

"Wait, don't I have four balls?" I thought to myself and raised an eyebrow at Elizabeth. She puckered up her lips and rhythmically blew out air, in a hilarious attempt to whistle. "Where's your ball?" I sassed, which made her try even harder to whistle but having no experience with the art, she just ended up blowing a raspberry.

"Elegant," I smirked and picked up the laundry ball from the clean carpeted floor then went into the bathroom. I didn't bother to lock the door behind me, having my hands full would've made it difficult so I just knocked it shut with my leg. There was a small laundry basket under the sink, so I tossed my dirty clothes in there along with the ones I was wearing, then set my pajamas down neatly on the radiator. After taking a long look at myself in the mirror, I stepped into the shower and started fumbling with the knobs. It took me a while to find the perfect temperature between sheer cold and lava plume, but eventually, I found it.

"How are you feeling, by the way? Do you still have a headache?" I shouted over the sound of the rushing water pelting the bathroom floor. She hasn't said a word since I released her from the Pokeball, so I was a little concerned that she still wasn't feeling well. A short pause later I felt our psychic link reconnect, leaving me with tingles all over my body.

"I am alright, just maybe a little tired," Her voice rang in my head. This would be normal if she were still a Ralts, but ever since she became a Kirlia whenever she would talk to me telepathically, she would manipulate her voice to match her location relative to me. She also must've messed with my head, because every time she talked her lips moved to match her words. Well either that or she was just mouthing and pretended to talk.

"You sure you're alright?" I poked my head out from behind the curtains, now growing a little more anxious. The door creaked open and Elizabeth peered through the crack with a reassuring smile.

"Alright, I trust you," Now slightly calmer I went back under the water so I could wash out the remaining shampoo from my hair. Good thing the Pokemon center always restocked their small necessities after the guests leave. Small bottles were stacked on a little shelf to my right. Conditioner, soap, moisturizers, and of course shampoo. They even provided a mini canister of toothpaste, but I had my own. Too bad I forgot to use it recently. I stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and the stress of the last few days was washed away along with the sweat and dirt that stuck with me through the journey. Once I slipped into my pajamas which were nice and toasty from sitting on the radiator I went back outside with the laundry bag in my hands. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow when she saw me.

"I'm gonna get these washed, I'll be right back," I explained, reaching for the door. I almost fell through the opening as I was tackled by a small green and white blur. Elizabeth was holding onto me tightly, worried that I wouldn't come back. Being in the Pokeball again must've gotten to her.

"H-Hey, it's okay! I'll be back I promise!" I put the basket down so I could pat her head. This seemed to work and she let go after a bit of pampering. After locking the door behind me and making sure she wouldn't just teleport out two minutes later I headed downstairs to get my things washed.

Official Pokemon trainers like me, who got their Pokedex from the region's lead professor were given certain benefits. Trainers like me were given full access to most facilities of the Pokemon Centre for free. We could stay in non-patient rooms for as long as we wanted, were given 3 meals a day, and our Pokemon were healed for completely free, whereas they charged a small fee for regular trainers and citizens. Professional trainers also got a slight discount on the Pokemart! It wasn't anything crazy, roughly ten to twenty percent.

"I'm back!" I greeted the empty room, "Huh? Elizabeth? Where are you?" After frantically scanning the room for a few seconds, I realized that the shower was on.

"That's weird, didn't I shut it off?" I thought to myself and opened the bathroom door. I found Elizabeth. She was blissfully bathing herself using her psychic powers to make the showerhead float around her like some sort of flying snake. Her outfit was neatly folded on the toilet seat. She didn't notice that I entered over the sound of the rushing water, however, she quickly realized I was staring at her, thanks to the psychic link she reattached a little while ago.

"KIRLIA!" She screamed and covered herself. The floating showerhead was now targeting me with such force that she nearly tore the whole thing out of the wall. In her frenzy, she pretty much soaked the entire bathroom, but I barely got wet thanks to my quick reaction and the waterproof wooden door of the bathroom. Five minutes after she tossed every movable object at the door she finally decided to come out. Her outfit was soaking wet, even her leggings were wet.

"You're gonna catch a cold, i-if you wear those while they're wet," I averted my gaze, not wanting to ogle a girl in wet clothes. She crossed her arms and did the same, we were both embarrassed about the situation.

"I-I do not have anything else to wear…" She mumbled. That's right, the only other piece of clothing she owned was that hat I bought for her back in Petalburg, not like that would be of any help right now. My clothes were down in the laundry room and the lady there said they would only be ready for pickup in the morning, even my emergency shirt was in the wash. It was squashed under all my dirty clothes while it was in the pack making it smell a little, so I just threw into the laundry basket on my way out. I looked down in the middle of thinking and finally came up with a solution.

"You can just wear this shirt for t-tonight. It's long enough to cover you," I offered and pointed at my pajama shirt. While a shirt with a Snorlax belly design wouldn't be the most charming look on someone like her, it was the best I could come up with. I didn't think she would like the idea, but her eyes lit up when she heard my offer. As if she was expecting it…

"Really?" She was beaming. All the grumpiness from the incident left her mind and now all she was focusing on was getting my shirt. I nodded with a crooked smile which only fanned her excitement.

"Give me!" She squealed happily and leaped forward. I held my hand out and stopped Elizabeth in her tracks. She was still dripping wet, if she tackled me, then both the bed and my pajamas would end up soaking too.

"Not so fast! Dry yourself off and then you can get it," I stated, expecting her to calm down and get to her senses. Her smile hasn't wavered a bit and she poked her head out from behind my hand with a determined expression.

"I already dried myself off," She proudly stated, then inserted a memory into my mind. It was of her shaking wildly like a wet Poochyena puppy that fell in its water bowl. I burst out laughing loud enough for even Nurse Joy to hear on the first floor. Elizabeth looked confused, but was still reaching for my shirt with her large soft hands while clinging onto mine with her other and desperately trying to force it away.

"That's not how you do it, Elizabeth," I snickered. Here, follow me. I picked her up with my arms fully extended, since I didn't feel like getting drenched by a wet hug. I plopped her down on one of the little bathroom stools that were hidden away in the corner.

"First of all, your hair looks like it's still underwater," I sassed. Lecturing wasn't one of my strong suits, considering I'm usually the one getting lectured by everyone. "Let me dry it for you," I reached for the towel which rested on the radiator. It somehow managed to escape Elizabeth's flood so it was still usable. Her hair was incredibly silky to the touch as if instead of hair she had some sort of expensive fabric growing from her head. I had to run my hand through her flocks a few times just because it was such an amazing sensation. She seemed to enjoy it, letting out soft purrs that sounded like little silver bells chiming as my hands caressed her scalp.

Getting to my senses, I started scrubbing her head with the towel, since gentle pampers don't get water out. It was a little difficult since her two large horns separated her hair into three different areas. I had no idea how she would manage to dry her hair without help or psychic powers. A good three minutes later her hair was dry enough for me to use the blow dryer. She didn't like it at first, but she gave in eventually and just enjoyed the warm sensation. I almost forgot how much her hair floofs up when it dries. I tried to comb it down, but she protested too much, so I gave up and let her have her scruffy looks.

"Alright, I'm gonna leave my shirt here. Towel yourself off and put it on," I ushered as it was getting pretty late. Even the Nurse Joy from Petalburg was probably asleep by now...I hope. She thanked me and shooed me out. It was a little cold in the room so I put on my jacket and opted to sleep in it, having surrendered my shirt to Elizabeth.

"I-I'm coming out!" Elizabeth warned me shyly. She stepped out of the bathroom and I felt my heart stop. I don't know if she was playing with my mind, but I swear I saw the world turn a little pinker when I saw her. Her lips slowly curled into a smile while I stood there speechless.

"C-Can you make these dry too?" She broke the silence with her question, snapping me back to reality. Elizabeth held out her wet clothes crumpled up into a laundry ball similar to mine. I nodded, still stunned with silence, and headed out the door with the crumpled clothes.

"Wow!" I thought to myself and made my way downstairs, clutching my chest just to make sure my heart was still there. I made the trip down to the laundry room and back fairly quickly, but I spent a few minutes in the hallway to calm down.

"I-I'm coming in!" I swallowed and stepped in. Elizabeth was sitting on the bed and looking out the window, watching the now empty streets. In the dim light that peered in through the large window, she didn't look like a Pokemon at all. She just looked like your typical, average girl with pink horns and psychic powers. I snapped myself out of it when she turned around to greet me.

"Hey, Eric! I'm sleepy, can we sleep?" She stretched, imitating me, then started patting the bed enticingly. As much as I would've loved to join her, I had to burst her bubble.

"Alright, you can sleep on the bed. I'll sleep in my sleeping bag!" I stated nonchalantly. "The things I do for you…" I snickered, trying to keep up my facade. She tried to cut me off and talk me into sleeping on the bed, but I just kept talking over her, pretending to make a noble sacrifice by sleeping on the floor. Elizabeth even stood up on the bed with her hands on her hips to look like a scolding parent as she tried to persuade me. Thankfully I was able to maintain my cover by being obnoxious enough to tire her out.

"Fine, sleep on the floor!" She frowned and slid under the covers in an aggressively adorable manner. I won. Too grumpy to do anything besides turning away from me and checking over her shoulder to make sure I knew she was turning away from me, Elizabeth slowly drifted into slumber despite her valiant efforts to stay awake and glare at me. I patted her head when I knew for sure she was asleep as a peace offering. With that out of the way, I closed the curtains quietly then tucked myself into my sleeping bag.

"Sleep well, Elizabeth," I whispered. With my lips stuck in a permanent smile, I slowly drifted off to sleep. As Elizabeth's psychic link began to fade, I swear I her mumble something.

"I ov, ou Eic…"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow! That was something, wasn't it? Probably my longest chapter so far! I had a lot I wanted to tell in this chapter, that's why it's so beefy. I love world-building, but it's hard to make it subtle. I hope you guys will like this chapter at least half as much as I loved writing it! We're reaching the first anniversary of the fanfiction! What will happen then? An animation on my Instagram (davidt00ns)? The first kiss? Who knows? Probably me! Hahaha! Well, see you guys next time! 3**


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